


You, Me, and the Apocalypse

by Wizardguy15



Category: Young Avengers (Comics)
Genre: Did I mention original characters? - Freeform, Fluff, M/M, Minor Angst, Original Character(s), Pretty Heavy Plot Stuff, Some more original characters - Freeform, Young Avengers AU, Zombies occasionally
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-03
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-07-30 07:49:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 32,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20093815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wizardguy15/pseuds/Wizardguy15
Summary: For a year, the infection has spread across the globe. Now, Teddy Altman wanders in a barren wasteland, riddled with walking corpses and people desperate to survive. But Teddy’s world is flipped upside down when he meets Billy, a boy with an injured leg and a dangerous secret. Now the two struggle in a battle for survival... and with their feelings for each other.Okay that was a bit overdramatic but the story is pretty good I promise.





	1. Another Sunny Day in the Apocalypse

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first time posting so I’m pretty uneducated as to how this whole thing works but I’m going to give it a shot anyway! This is a story I’ve been working on for a while and should end up being about ten(ish) chapters long. It is a very plot heavy fic but I promise there is some good relationship stuff in it. All feedback and comments are greatly appreciated!

_ Oh come on.  _   
The stench of rotten food met Teddy’s nose and he cringed away. Preparing himself, he readjusted the heavy pack on his back and pulled the bandana around his neck above his nose before heading into the darkened store.   
A beam of light flickered and then shone down the long, dark, aisles of food as Teddy turned his flashlight on.  _ Note to self: get batteries. _ Teddy clambered over a flipped display stand and wandered down the aisles looking for something that would be edible. He passed rows of rotten fruit and vegetables, nearly vomited when he reached the dairy section, and finally found a case of water bottles that seemed passable. He ripped the case open and stuck some in his backpack before continuing on.    
Teddy wandered through the abandoned store occasionally grabbing things that seemed edible and stuffing them into his bag. Most of the aisles were cleaned out, but every now and then Teddy would find something that wasn’t a year past it’s expiration date. 

Suddenly a loud noise rang from several aisles over. Teddy sucked in a breath and held it. Carefully, he removed the metal bat from the pocket of his bag and hefted it in his hands. Then he waited.

The noise came again, this time louder. Slowly, without making a sound, he moved to the end of the aisle and towards the source of the noise. He paused as he reached the edge of the aisle and peered out from behind a rack of potato chips.    
A man sat slumped over next to the frozen foods. Blood gathered around him in a shallow pool, and he seemed to be barely conscious.    
“Hey!” Teddy called out.   
The man’s eyes flew open. They were a sickly green and the pupils were snakelike slits that darted around wildly. Now that Teddy was closer he could see that parts of the man’s skin had begun to rot off and leave the tissue underneath exposed. Teddy backed away and the man reached out towards him in his last conscious act. He suddenly went completely still. Teddy held his breath. _ Maybe the bite will just kill him. Please, please just die. _ For a blessed moment, nothing happened. Then, the body lurched up to a standing position and then began to limp slowly towards Teddy. He sighed and lifted the bat, preparing himself for what would inevitably come next. The creature began to pick up speed until it was coming at Teddy at a jogging pace.    
Teddy held the bat behind his head and swung forward. The cool metal connected with the creature’s head and with a sickening crunch, bits of rotted flesh went flying through the air, landing on the one chip bag left on the shelf. The dark bits of flesh stood out against the bright yellow bag that cheerily displayed the word _ Lays! _ on the front. Teddy knelt down next to the body and pulled out a bag from his backpack. Sighing, he removed a small flower and laid it on the body. It was a simple reminder. Something to help Teddy remember that the thing he just killed used to be a person; someone with a family, and a home. Now all that was left of them was a decomposing corpse, left to rot in the dim lights of what used to be a grocery store.

He walked away from the body and wiped the bat off with some paper towels before going for the exit. Teddy sighed and left the store, stopping to grab batteries on his way out.   
A bright blue sky greeted Teddy’s eyes as he walked from the store. A stark contrast from the barren wasteland that surrounded him. All around him were grey buildings, the signs having long fell off, dead grass, and the black asphalt of the major road that ran through it all. Teddy adjusted his now heavier bag and set off down the road. He only had one more stop to make in this area before moving on and he was anxious to get out of the region before nightfall. Larger areas usually meant more lifeless to watch for.    
He steadily made his way down the road dodging groups of lifeless wandering around the various stores. He came close to having to fight a small group of them. Lifeless were stupid, but they were fast and didn’t give up, so running was out of the question. Finally, after about an hour of walking he reached his destination. A large, dilapidated, building sat in front of Teddy. Arches crossed the main entrance, held up by pillars of concrete taller than two of him stacked together. Teddy passed under a sign that had presumably once said Concord Mall and pried open the glass doors to get inside. The entrance opened up into a large atrium lined with various restaurants and fast food. A glass dome topped the space and sunlight streamed through, illuminating chairs and tables that lay scattered across the tile floor. Hopefully there would be a pharmacist or at least a Walgreens that he could find medicine and first aid supplies in.    
After 15 minutes of wandering around aimlessly, he discovered a smaller store called  _ Happy Harry’s _ that seemed like it would serve his purpose. As he walked in the store he was greeted by a poster of a balding man with a mustache and glasses waving at him.   
_ Probably Harry _ . Teddy thought. The poster had mold growing on it and holes riddled the paper.  _ Harry’s seen better days. _ He added. He picked out some non-expired medicine, band-aids, and gauze, from the mostly empty shelves. Rare finds. Once the epidemic had started, it had spread rapidly and the people remaining had been caught unprepared. From the looks of it, any survivors in the area had either died off in the first few weeks, or had vacated the area, because they hadn’t come back for supplies.    
Teddy checked his watch. The hands told him it was just about 5:30. That left him with just over an hour and a half to get to a safe place to camp for the night. He grimaced. That wasn’t a lot of time; he would have to move quickly.   
The hallways of the mall were thankfully still empty as Teddy made his way to an exit. Teddy reached the bottom of the escalators and stopped dead in his tracks. Not twenty feet away from him, a figure sat leaned up against a stone pillar. For the second time that day, Teddy removed the bat from across his back and hefted it in his hands. As he got closer, Teddy realized that the figure was much smaller than the one he had encountered earlier. It was a boy, about 15 or 16 by the look of it. His hands and body were caked with blood. Dark brown hair lay matted against his forehead. At first, Teddy thought he was dead, presumably having been attacked and not been able to fight off the horde of lifeless.    
But, surprisingly, the boy moaned and coughed.  _ Please not again. _ Teddy slowly moved towards him and raised the bat over his head.    
Then the boy opened his eyes. Teddy stopped dead in his tracks. They were a deep blue with flecks of deep green and turquoise speckled throughout. The eyes locked on to Teddy’s and he felt a wave of sadness wash over him. This boy did nothing to deserve what happened to him. Teddy put the bat back on his back and knelt down next to the boy’s body. The boy opened his mouth and tried to speak but it came out as a mere whisper.    
“My leg...”   
The boy peeled back his hands and Teddy saw what the boy had been covering. A deep gash ran down his thigh. Dried blood lined the edges of the cut, separating the dirt covered skin from the flesh inside.  _ Thank GOD for Grey’s Anatomy. Otherwise I would be puking right now.  _ Teddy thought. 

“It’s alright,” Teddy said, “I’m going to take care of you.”

_ I hope I can. _ He took a pair of gloves from his bag and unwrapped the gauze. Tenderly, he dressed the edges of the wound, being careful not to try and hurt the boy too much. Just as he was about to but on the first layer of bandages, a loud crash echoed down the hallway. Teddy’s head shot up and his eyes immediately started to scan the area. Thinking for a moment, he guided the boy’s hands back to the wound and gave him a strip of bandage.   
“Hold this here, I’ll be right back. I promise”    
The boy nodded faintly.   
“Not like I’m going anywhere soon.”   
Teddy quickly peered around the escalator and cursed under his breath. Three lifeless were prowling around the food court. One had fallen over a chair and knocked over a table, causing the noise. He quietly ran back over to the boy.    
“It's one of those... things isn’t it?” The boy croaked.   
“Just leave me here, it's not worth it. Besides I’m basically dead already.”   
Teddy looked down at the boy’s face. It would be so much easier to leave him behind. The logical part of Teddy’s brain screamed it at him. He would have to scavenge for two, find more supplies, and with that leg there was no way in hell this boy was going to be able to run, much less fight. But the boy’s eyes stared up at Teddy with a look that made his heart break a little bit. It wasn’t hope. It wasn’t desperation. It was acceptance. This boy had given up on hoping that anyone was coming to save him, he was ready to die alone and afraid. And Teddy was so tired of being alone.    
“I’m not leaving you behind.” Teddy said, taking his belt off.   
“What’s your name?” He asked.   
“Billy.” The boy said.   
“Well Billy this might hurt a bit but I need you to be as quiet as possible. Can you do that?”   
Billy nodded and braced himself. Teddy wrapped the belt around the top of Billy’s leg and pulled it tight, forming a makeshift tourniquet. Billy’s eyes squeezed shut and his lips pressed together, struggling to keep from crying out.   
Quickly, Teddy bandaged up the wound and stuffed the rest of his supplies into his backpack.   
“Do you think you can stand?”   
Billy propped himself up, winced, and nodded.   
“Probably, with some help.”    
Teddy grabbed Billy’s hands and hoisted him up with little difficulty. It was then that Teddy realized how much smaller the other boy was. He was probably about 5’9 but he was extremely skinny. So skinny that Teddy suddenly wondered how long the boy had been sitting on the floor. He wrapped his arm under Billy’s shoulders and Billy placed his arm across Teddy’s back. They hobbled quickly towards the neon exit sign at the opposite end of the atrium.    
Outside, dusk was falling, and the two of them quickly shambled to the other end of the parking lot. They stopped behind a large van and Billy leaned up against it. Teddy noticed he was out of breath and his face was concerningly pale.    
“Are you alright?” He asked.   
“Just peachy.” Billy replied.   
Teddy took the bag off of his back and pulled out a bottle of water. He held it out to Billy. Billy hesitated a moment and then took it. He gulped half of it down and promptly vomited it up on the other side of the car. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve.   
“Thanks for that.”   
Teddy nodded. Billy wobbled on his leg and almost fell over, but Teddy caught him and held him up. Teddy felt concern wash over him and found himself resisting the urge to just pick Billy up and carry him that way.   
“We need to find a place to sleep for tonight,” he said. He looked around. There weren’t really many options. A silver ladder running up the side of the building suddenly gave him and idea.

“How are you with heights?”   
A couple minutes later they were at the base of the large Sears connected to the end of the mall. A small covered ladder led up the side of the tall building to its roof.    
“Up you go.” Teddy said.

Billy gave Teddy a look.   
“Are you serious?”   
Teddy said nothing and instead flashed his brightest smile. Billy sighed and started up the ladder. Teddy waited a bit and then followed him up. Billy’s pace was slow so it took them several minutes to reach the roof.    
“Sorry that took so long. I’m not exactly in peak condition in case you haven’t noticed.” Billy grimaced as he sat down.    
“It’s alright, I’m happy to wait.” Teddy smiled.   
Billy blushed a deep red, although Teddy couldn’t tell if that was because of him or the extreme pain that Billy was in. He decided to forget about it. Teddy took his bag off and began to unpack it; laying the contents on the ground: several bottles of water, a lighter, a first aid kit, a flashlight, some food, and a small sleeping bag. Billy propped himself up against an air duct running along the side of the roof.    
“Thank you, for what you did. Not many people would have done that, and contrary to popular belief I’d rather not die next to a panda express.”   
Teddy laughed.    
“It’s the least I could do.”    
Teddy glanced over at Billy. He was staring off into the distance with a sad look on his face. The setting sun cast an orange light over his face, making it almost seem as if Billy hadn’t just crawled off of a bloody mall floor. Teddy looked away. _ You don’t deserve him.  _ He thought. _ Just fix him up and let him go. Don’t get attached.  _   
“If you don’t mind me asking, how exactly did you end up like this?” Teddy asked. The look on Billy’s face immediately made him regret it. Billy took a deep breath.   
“I was traveling with a group of people.” He began. “We got cornered in the mall by a group of lifeless and barely made it out. Well, they barely made it out. I was pretty badly injured in the fight and when it came down to it, the group decided I would just slow them down.”   
A wave of realization crashed over Teddy and he suddenly felt like punching someone.    
“They left you behind.”   
“Yeah I know, dick move.”   
Billy fell silent and Teddy realized that his eyes were red.    
“Anyway then you showed up, we got attacked, and now I’m here.”    
“Billy I’m so sorry.” Teddy knelt down next to him.   
“Hey well it’s not your fault.” Billy paused and the two fell silent for a moment.

“I still don’t know your name.” Billy said.   
“Theodore, but everyone calls me Teddy.”   
Billy smiled and then laughed.   
“Really? That’s adorable!”

Billy’s face contorted with pain and he clutched his side. Teddy made a move to help him but Billy waved him off.

“I’ll be fine. I probably should stay away from laughing to hard, or generally experiencing any emotion that puts my lungs at risk.”   
Teddy smiled back at him. They sat in a tired silence for a little while before Teddy decided he needed to sleep. It was then Teddy realized that he was underprepared. It seemed Billy had noticed this as well.   
“Uh you only have one sleeping bag.” Billy said.   
“Take it” Teddy said.

Billy’s face fell.

“No I can’t-” he began.

“Billy, you  _ need  _ it.”

“Alright if you insist.”

Teddy placed the sleeping bag against a small heating unit on the roof of the building. The heat had long since stopped working, but with a little luck it would block the wind.   
Teddy then realized how exhausted he actually was. He took off his jacket and laid it over his body like a makeshift blanket. Billy glanced at the sleeping bag with apprehension before sighing and crawling in. Teddy wrapped his arm around the top of the sleeping bag, in a protective manner. The last thing he saw before he drifted off to sleep was the face of Billy, bloodied, battered, and strangely... beautiful.

_ I’m not going to let anyone hurt you, not anymore.  _ He thought. Finally, after so so long, Teddy wasn't alone anymore. <strike></strike>


	2. There’s No Place Like Home

Billy had opened his eyes.

That was his first mistake. Why did he have to be the stupidest person on the planet? He really didn’t know. Billy had opened his eyes and been greeted with the sight of the most beautiful person he had ever seen in his life. He was tall, like_ really_ tall, and his blonde hair was wild and fell across his forehead in a swoop_. Is this real?_ _Am I dead yet? How is it possible for someone to have a jawline that defined? All valid questions_ Billy decided. 

Then the boy, Teddy, had fixed his leg up and escorted him out of his would-be tomb. Billy had returned the favor by vomiting behind a car for several minutes and generally being a danger to both of their lives. A fair trade all things considered. Then they had actually talked. Teddy had been warm, and even  _ funny _ . How anyone could be funny in the face of certain death was beyond Billy. 

But Billy didn’t have time to think about his obviously misplaced crush on the gorgeous boy currently fending off zombies in next to him. Instead, he grabbed the large branch lying on the ground next to him and swung it until he watched it connect with the corpse shambling towards him. They had only been in the woods off the interstate for a few days and already the lifeless had picked up their scent and followed them.  _ Is that a thing they can do? _ Billy wondered.  _ Save it for after you’re done fighting for your life idiot. _

Several more lifeless shambled towards him through the trees. Billy backed up so that he and Teddy were back to back. The contact was comforting and Billy was grateful that Teddy couldn’t see the blush spreading across his face. 

“You alright?” Teddy asked.

“I’m doing as well as one can be while fighting a horde of the undead. You?”

Teddy laughed and Billy felt a wave of happiness crash over him before quickly dismissing it and refocusing himself. 

“I’m not seeing an end to these lifeless. Maybe we should just make a break for it.” Teddy replied. Billy glanced around, a tent lay haphazardly pitched in front of a hastily made fire pit. 

“Should we really leave all this behind?” He said

“It’s just stuff right. We can steal more stuff, but we can’t steal more lives.”

“Unless it’s Lego Star Wars.”

“ _ God _ I wish this was Lego Star Wars.” 

Billy bashed one more skull in before reaching down to hastily pick up what he could and stuff it in his pack.

“On the count of three we run.” Teddy said.

“One.”

“Two.”

“Three!”

Billy sprinted towards the gap in the trees that was the highway. Behind him, he could hear moaning and the shuffling of rotted feet through the underbrush. Billy didn’t stop till his feet hit the pavement 200 feet away. He looked back and found Teddy right behind him. So close in fact that he almost ran into Billy when he stopped. 

“If you don’t run then I _ will  _ have to carry you.” Teddy said.

With that the two of them took off running down the large paved stretch. They ran for what seemed like an hour before stopping underneath one of the large exit signs. Billy checked his watch, it had been ten minutes. 

“Are you ok? No scratches or anything?” Teddy asked.

“Nope, nothing here. Don’t worry I’m not gonna Hulk out on you anytime soon.”

“Well thank god for that. Then you  _ definitely _ wouldn’t fit in the sleeping bag.”

Billy laughed.

“Yeah well at least-” He stopped. 

Billy suddenly realized where they were. It just looked so different from outside a car. The green sign above the highway read:  **Kill Devil Hills-1 Mile** . Billy cursed to himself. The last thing he wanted to be reminded of was-. He stopped himself. _ Do you really want to think about them? No. So stop. You don’t have to tell Teddy about anything. He’d never look at me the same. Just play it off. _

“At least what?” Teddy asked.

Billy put on a smile.

“At least then I could move without hitting my head on your bony chin.”

Teddy flushed.

“It’s not  _ that _ bony.”

“It was a joke stupid. Come on, I know a place where we can resupply before sundown.”

They walked for a half an hour, chatting about random parts of their lives before the apocalypse. Teddy had been a quarterback at his high school with a solid life and solid friends. But his mom had died early on in the invasion and he had never known his father. Billy also found out that Teddy’s favorite movie was  _ The Empire Strikes Back _ . 

“Shut  _ up _ . Wait seriously?! You’re a nerd too? That makes this so much easier.”

“Makes what easier?”

“Alright you’ll promise not to tell anyone?”

Teddy looked at Billy with concern.

“Of course not. I would never.”

“Alright then,” Billy took a deep breath, “My favorite movie is The Sound of Music.”

He paused waiting for the inevitable laughter, but it never came. He looked back over at Teddy to find that he was grinning. 

“What?” Billy said.

“Oh well, it's just I got caught singing along to Shake it Off, by Taylor Swift, at full blast while walking home from school once so I think I can handle a little Maria Von Trapp.”

Then Billy had told him about his life. He had started out talking about his family. His perfect and painfully nice mother, his militaristic and strict father, his annoying little sister, and his straight A’s only older sister in college. Then he had talked a bit about his school life... or lack thereof. 

Their conversation slowed as the road they were walking gave way to smaller roads, lined with shops and homes. Pristine suburban houses dotted the landscape, interrupted by the occasional playground or small store. All of it was painfully familiar to Billy.

Eventually Billy turned them down a residential street. The oak trees and the neat little yards were etched into Billy’s mind like an etch-a-sketch that couldn’t erase anymore . He saw them every time he closed his eyes as a reminder of the pain his family had caused him. They stopped in front of a medium sized colonial. The windows had been boarded shut and the door was blocked off from the road by a lawn chair laid across it. Of course Billy had known this before he had even seen the house. He knew because he had been the one to put it there. He also knew that he had also left the back kitchen window unlocked just in case the nightmare he was in ended and they could all come back home.

But now Billy wasn’t sure if his family was alive, and if they were he certainly would not like to live with them anymore. Unwillingly, a tear slid down Billy’s cheek. He realized that Teddy was standing there watching him and he pulled himself together. 

“Billy is this-?” Teddy trailed off.

Billy just nodded. Teddy reached over and pulled Billy into a deep hug. In the moment Billy didn't care that it was Teddy that was hugging him. Normally his brain would have been doing jumping jacks and setting off fireworks, but now, now he just needed someone to be there. And Teddy was.

“We don’t have to go inside if you don’t want to.” Teddy whispered.

“No it’s alright. I should do this. I have to do this.”

Billy pulled away and Teddy nodded. Together they walked up the driveway and climbed through the back window. Inside everything was exactly as it was when they had left it before. A cold pot of coffee stood on the counter. A clock slowly ticked on the wall. The whole house had a certain _ surrealness _ to it.

“We’ll be safe here for tonight.” Billy said. They set their backpacks down on the floor in the living room and continued the walk around the house. 

“Can I see your room?” Teddy asked. His expression was gentle, as if he was afraid that if he pushed too far, Billy would break.

“Oh uh, I didn’t exactly leave it in the best condition but sure.”

The stairs creaked as they climbed up to the second floor. Right at the top of the stairs was a white door that read: ** Billy** , in big bubble letters. Billy took a deep breath.  _ You can do this. _ He pushed the door open.

Everything was exactly the way he had left it. The mirror resting on his dresser, now coated in a thin layer of dust. His bed was haphazardly made, with the pillows neatly tucked up against the headboard. Billy walked over to his desk and examined all of the items left there. Behind him, Teddy looked around at various parts of the room. He stopped suddenly at the Doctor Who poster on the wall. 

“Doctor Who huh?”

“If you make fun of me while I’m having a moment I _ will _ hit you.”

“No it’s just, which one was your favorite?”

Billy paused, taken aback. _ Why does he want to know? _

“Tennant I guess.”

Teddy grimaced and held his hands up.

“I guess we can’t be friends anymore.” 

“What?” Billy asked.

“If you think anyone other than Smith is the best Doctor then we can’t be friends.”

Billy smiled and promptly threw one of his pillows at Teddy’s stupidly perfect face. _ So he’s obnoxiously handsome and watches Doctor Who. I would swoon but my leg would probably collapse _ . He turned his attention back to the items on his desk. Billy’s eye caught a photograph sitting in a small alcove on top of the desk. He picked it up and examined it. Inside, his family was gathered in front of the Disney castle in Florida. His parents smiled happily at the camera. His younger sister Danielle, Danny, was looking somewhere off camera, probably distracted by a ride she wanted to go on, or a butterfly. She was sweet but had the attention span of a squirrel on crack. His older sister Abby smiled happily up at him from the frame. The photo had been taken the summer before she had left for college three years ago. 

Billy felt Teddy come up behind him. 

“Is that them?” He asked.

“Yep. In all their glory.”

He put the picture down and sighed. 

“Alright I’m going to bed.” Billy yawned and Teddy nodded.

“It’s been a long day.”

They got to work making sure the bottom floor of the house was secure before eating a quick dinner from the rations they had left in their packs.  _ Tomorrow we’ll have to go out and restock _ . After dinner was over Billy headed up to his bedroom. Teddy was sleeping in Abby’s old room across the hall from Billy. 

As the hours slowly ticked by, Billy tossed and turned in his bed.  _ He’s probably not gay. No, he definitely isn’t gay. He’s a high school quarterback for god’s sake even if he was gay he wouldn’t be interested in a skinny jewish kid whose hair wouldn’t stay in one place for more than an hour. _ After a year of high school Billy had trained himself to expect nothing from the universe. He wasn’t bullied or made fun of. In fact he doubted half of the kids at his high school even knew he existed, and that was the way he preferred it.  _ They can’t hurt you if they can’t see you _ . That was the rule he had lived by since day one and it was the way he had expected to live most of his life. 

Then Teddy had come along and flipped everything Billy had ever known upside down. He was sweet, and kind, and so adorably nerdy it made Billy’s head hurt. Now he wasn’t playing by his rules anymore. He wasn’t sure he was playing by  _ anyone’s  _ rules anymore. There was no guidebook for being a closeted gay kid in the apocalypse. 

Billy sighed and sat up in his bed. Carefully, trying not to make too much noise, he slipped out of bed and crept towards the door. He opened it and ran straight into the solid wall that was standing outside his door. Teddy was standing right in front of him, a surprised look on his face.

“Is that my dad’s shirt?” Billy said, recovering from his impact with Teddy’s chest. 

Teddy blushed. 

“Oh uh yeah. I figured he probably wasn’t using it, and the one you gave me ripped when I put it on.”

“The Bob Ross shirt? Okay you owe me big time now.”

Teddy blushed a deeper shade of red. Billy wasn’t sure, but he was  _ pretty _ sure, that his face was a similar shade.

“Are you alright?” Teddy asked. “You were moving kinda loudly.”

“Uh yeah, yeah I’m fine. I just can’t sleep in that room. Too many bad memories.”

Teddy nodded and went silent for a moment.

“I have an idea.” He said.

Teddy walked into Billy’s room and tore the blanket off the top of his bed. He threw a pillow at Billy, who ducked. 

“Come on nerd. This pillow fort isn’t going to build itself.” Teddy smiled.

Billy grinned and grabbed the pillow. An hour later they stood proudly over their finished work. The main room was open and had large couch pillows on all four sides. A long blanket tunnel wrapped around Billy’s bed and connected it to the main entrance which was decked out with fairy lights. The two of them lay in a nest of pillows and blankets illuminated by a lantern hanging from the headboard.

“Goodnight Billy.” 

“Goodnight Teddy.” With that Billy closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I will try and get the next chapter up asap. It was super fun to do Billy’s perspective so i will most likely be shifting back and forth every so often. Next chapter will be some more Teddy though! Any comments or kudos are greatly appreciated :)


	3. Love in a Home Invasion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit of a shorter chapter so I’ll be posting chapter 4 as well. Hope you enjoy it!

Teddy was in love.

_ Oh don’t be ridiculous, you don’t even know what love is _ . 

Teddy was _ pretty sure _ he was in love. At least he had never felt this way about anyone else. Lying in a pile of blankets on Billy’s floor staring at the face a mere foot in front of his, gave him butterflies like nothing else ever had. 

He had always known he was gay. He didn’t even keep it a secret; his mother had known. He would have told his friends at school but they had never asked. No one had any reason to think that the almost 6 foot quarterback of the football team was gay. Besides, he’d never even met anyone that he’d had a crush on before. Except for Robert Downey Jr. but Teddy didn’t actually count that because he had never actually  _ met _ him before. 

_ Besides, you don’t even know if Billy is gay. He’s probably just really socially awkward. And not to mention out of your league.  _ Teddy doubted that a classy smart kid would ever fall for someone like Teddy, even if Teddy did watch Doctor Who like it was a religious experience. 

He lay awake for an hour just looking at the ceiling of Billy’s room, wondering why the universe had cursed him, before finally drifting off to sleep.

The sun was shining through the blinds of Billy’s window when Teddy finally opened his eyes again. He stretched his arms towards the ceiling and yawned. Next to him, Billy lay curled up around a pillow fast asleep and ever so slightly, snoring like a cow. Teddy smiled to himself.  _ He’s really adorable _ . 

A sudden sound from downstairs broke his stare. The back door had slammed shut. Quietly Teddy sat up and peered over the top of the bed. From his point of view he could see the rest of Billy’s room and out into the hallway by the top of the stairs. A loud grunt and shuffling noise echoed up the stairwell. 

Teddy’s mind went into panic mode.  _ How did it get in? Oh my god we forgot to lock the back door didn’t we? What if it comes upstairs? All of our supplies are downstairs. _ Teddy silently cursed himself for being stupid enough to leave all of their supplies downstairs. He slowly reached over and shook Billy lightly. No response. He tried again and Billy groaned and shifted around. Once again Teddy silently cursed before clamping a hand over Billy’s mouth and hitting him with a pillow. 

Billy’s eyes shot open and he gave Teddy a look that Teddy was pretty sure said  _ What the HELL? _ Teddy held a finger up to his lips. Billy’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion. A loud crash from downstairs came and Billy nodded in fear and in understanding.

For a few agonizing minutes there was silence from below. Billy and Teddy waited, silently, for something to happen. Teddy realized his hand was still on Billy’s mouth and he took it away, blushing slightly. After a few more minutes of silence Teddy decided it was worth a risk to take a peek over the bed. Carefully, he raised his head just over the mattress. The lifeless had made its way up the stairs and invited itself to the doorway of Billy's room. 

Teddy’s head shot back down.  _ Oh my god it's in the room _ . Billy looked at him with terror on his face and grabbed Teddy’s hand. Despite the life-threatening circumstances, Teddy felt his heart skip a beat and his face flush. He gently squeezed Billy’s hand back and gave him a reassuring nod. To his relief, Billy squeezed and nodded back. 

Teddy could hear the faint sounds of the lifeless shuffling around the hallway just outside. He rapidly began to think of ways to make it out of the situation. He considered wrapping the comforter around it and pushing it down the stairs but quickly abandoned the idea as the lifeless’ claws would tear through the fabric and then they would have not only revealed their location but also ruined a perfectly good comforter. 

Then Teddy realized they didn’t really have a whole lot of other options. Sighing, he signalled to Billy with his free hand to grab a side of the blanket. Billy nodded and reluctantly let go of Teddy’s hand. Once again Teddy peered over the bed. The lifeless was now at the other end of the hall, staring at a photo of Billy’s family hanging on the wall.

They crept around the edges of the bed, making sure to remain out of sight of the doorway. The creaking of wood under his feet brought Teddy to a stop. He winced and peered around the wall. The lifeless had stopped at the top of the stairs and appeared confused.

“Now!” Teddy whispered.

The two of them leapt into the hallway and threw the blanket on top of the walking corpse. It jumped with surprise and reached out towards Billy. Before it could reach him Teddy took the comforter and wrapped it tightly around the creature’s head. Unfortunately for him, the victory was short lived. As the lifeless reached up to swat its attacker away it’s strong arm connected with Teddy’s chest. 

The air exited Teddy’s lungs at an alarming rate and Teddy hit the carpet with a  _ thud _ . The lifeless saw its chance and lunged towards him, claws outstretched. But before it could reach him. A sock covered foot collided with its ribs, sending it toppling over the railing. The lifeless screeched and tumbled down the stairs. Teddy heard a sickening crunch as it’s head connected with the bottom step. Billy stood at the head of the stairs panting lightly.

_ I’m definitely in love.  _ Teddy thought.

_ Hopelessly in love. _

_ _ Teddy grunted and pulled himself up off the ground. 

“Remind me not to get on your bad side.” He grinned.

“Oh I would  _ end _ you.” Billy said, smiling back.

“We should get out of here. There might be more of them close by.” He added. Teddy nodded in agreement. 

Thirty minutes later, they had gathered their remaining supplies by the back door. Teddy shuffled through his bag with increasing concern. The amount of supplies left in his backpack was disheartening to say the least. The food they had left would last another day at best and their medical supplies were in even worse shape. With Billy’s leg still not fully healed, they had been going through bandages rapidly. 

“Ready?”

Teddy turned. Billy stood in the doorway of the kitchen. He had switched out the worn, bloody, gray jacket and shredded jeans for newer clothes. He now sported a red zip up hoodie and dark blue jeans with no stab wound over the right thigh. He had also washed his hair which fell over his forehead in random places. It was simple, but  _ extremely _ adorable.

_ Jesus get a grip _ . Teddy thought to himself. Then Teddy noticed the belt. Looped through the waistbands of his jeans, Billy wore a fabric belt with rainbow stripes running along it.

_ How many straight guys do you know that wear rainbow belts? _ A glimmer of something bright and warm burst into Teddy’s mind. Fireworks and alarm bells and sirens were going off in his head all at once. Teddy was pretty sure if he was going to say something, it would be somewhere along the lines of: !!!!!!!????!!!!!!?!

“Teddy?”

Teddy brought himself back to the real world. Billy was waving his hand in front of Teddy’s face. It was then Teddy realized he was grinning like an idiot. 

“Right, sorry.” He said.

He was vaguely aware of the fact that he was still grinning like an idiot, but if Billy noticed he chose to ignore it.

“Alright it's about a half an hour to the mall so it's a bit of a hike. But we should find everything we need there.” Billy said. 

Teddy nodded and zipped up his backpack. 

“You look nice by the way.” Teddy said.

_ Well great job shithead you really stepped in it this time.  _ Teddy waited for something to happen, but to his surprise, Billy only blushed and murmured what sounded like a quick thanks before walking out the back door. Teddy silently cursed himself for being an absolute idiot before following him out.

They set out through the neighborhood, sticking close to the treeline incase they needed to make a quick getaway. The sun was out and it beat down on them as they made their way to the Kill Devil Hills Mall.  _ Really, another mall? The universe is just getting lazy now _ . But as the Kill Devil Hills Mall came into view, Teddy realized this was no ordinary mall. It had several stories and parking lots as big as football fields. This was a super mall, a champion of its kind. Billy and Teddy made their way down the length of the abandoned parking lot. 

Billy led Teddy to the front of a large, cabin-looking, building at the edge of the mall.

“Cabela’s? Really?” Teddy asked. 

“What? Pit stop. It’ll be quick, I promise.”

With that, they entered the store. A bell rang out somewhere in the depths of the store as they opened the inner door. Teddy cringed to himself.  _ I hope nothing heard that. _ Billy wandered off into the aisles of the store, occasionally stopping to look at a hockey stick, or a hunting knife. 

Suddenly Teddy realized why they were here and he took the bat out of its holding on his back. Billy needed a weapon. Something he could defend himself with. After this morning, Teddy didn’t blame him. Being stuck in the zombie apocalypse with no way to defend yourself was not a position he would want to be in either. 

Eventually Billy returned with a large wooden stick in his hand. It was one of the polished wooden walking sticks that outdoorsy stores sold by the register. Billy swung it from side to side and gave it a few twirls.

“What do you think?” He asked.

“I think you look like Gandalf.” 

“I’m choosing to take that as a compliment.” Billy shot back.

“Are you sure that's the best option?” Teddy asked. Looking around the store he could spot at least ten deadlier objects than a wooden stick. 

“Pretty sure. I was going for something with the short range capabilities of a bat, but more length so I can hit more people- I mean zombies. And besides,” Billy twirled the staff in his hand and suddenly struck out with it, knocking a single hockey puck off of its display case, “it looks  _ awesome _ .” 

With his doubts silenced for the time being, Teddy sheathed his bat and turned towards the door. The air whistled as something shot by him and hit a display of tennis balls behind him. Without skipping a beat, Teddy tackled Billy to the floor behind a shelf. 

“Thanks but was that  _ really _ necessary?” Billy whispered from underneath Teddy.

“Stand up and let me see your eyes.” A voice rang out from the front of the store. Slowly Teddy emerged from behind the shelf with his hands up. Billy followed suit. Standing twenty yards away, with a bow and arrow pulled taut, was a little girl. She was small,  _ must be at least two years younger than us _ . Teddy thought. Dirt and grime covered her face and clothes, but her eyes shone like fire from her small face.

“Who the hell are you guys?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always thanks for reading! This was a bit of a slower chapter but some exciting things are coming in the next chapter (like the introduction of my first oc). Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated :)


	4. The Wizard, The Cowboy, and the Girl Who Didn’t Care

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, the next chapter! I’m finally introducing my first oc so be sure to let me know what you think of her :)

Billy instinctively reached out towards Teddy and touched his arm. Teddy was slowly moving forwards towards the girl, with his hands still raised.

“We’re just passing through, collecting supplies, we’re not going to hurt you.” Teddy said.

“You can put your hands down idiot I can see that your not one of them.” The girl said, keeping her bow pulled taut.

Teddy relaxed and his arms dropped to his side.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“I’m Miyu, not that it’s any of your business. You’ll be leaving soon, understand?”

Teddy glanced back at Billy with a confused expression. Billy shrugged in response.

“What do you mean?” Teddy said. “Now that we’ve found each other we should stick together, right?”

Billy tugged on Teddy’s sleeve.

“Yeah but Teddy keep in mind she  _ is _ still aiming a bow at us so why don’t we do what she asks.” 

“You should listen to your dark haired love interest more often, he knows what he’s talking about.” Miyu said.

Billy’s cheeks flushed. _ Is it that obvious that I like him? This girl has known us for a grand total of one minute and already she can tell. Good job Billy. Life is good. _

“Regardless. Get what you need and leave.” 

With that, the girl lowered her bow and walked away down the aisle. She left the store and Billy saw her sit down on a bench outside the store. She fiddled with one of the arrows in her hands and watched them like a hawk. _ Like a tiny hawk, a tiny hawk that could probably kill me.  _ Billy thought. Teddy turned to Billy. 

“You alright?” He asked. 

Billy nodded. 

“Next time you decide to tackle me how about a heads up, yeah?”

Teddy blushed and fiddled with the edge of his jacket. 

“Sorry about that. It just kinda happened.”

Billy smiled and punched Teddy’s arm lightly. 

“C’mon lets get the rest of our stuff. That girl terrifies me. I think she’s probably murdered someone before.”

“Billy she’s like  _ twelve _ .”

“So was Ginny Weasley when she nearly brought Lord Voldemort back from the dead.”

“Fair point.”

They wandered through the store for a little longer, collecting various supplies they needed, before heading out to where Miyu was sitting on her bench. She looked up as they were exiting the store and put the arrow back in her quiver.

“All done?”

Billy locked eyes with Teddy who nudged his shoulder. 

_ Alright fine you big baby I’ll ask. _

“Actually,” Billy began, “We need a few more things, but we can’t find them here. Do you think you could help us?” 

Miyu cocked an eyebrow and Billy couldn’t help but feel like she was telepathically scanning his mind, looking for a reason to deny his request. 

“Fine.”

Miyu leapt up from the bench and skipped off down the large, open, halls of the mall. Billy shrugged up at Teddy and they walked after her. After a little while they caught up with Miyu, who had stopped skipping for the time being, and was waiting for them by a gumball dispenser. 

“You guys are too slow.” she said, crossing her arms. “Luckily, I, being the supreme genius that I am, have found us a method of transport.” 

Miyu gestured to the store across the hallway from them. A large sign read _ : Mall Buggies - We’re quick so you don’t have to be! _ In the window, various go karts shaped like animals and race cars were displayed. Billy wasn’t sure but he thought he could see various segway’s in the back of the darkened store as well. 

Twenty minutes later the three of them were racing down the open halls of the mall. Despite the relatively grim and dangerous circumstances, Billy couldn’t help but smile and laugh as he passed Teddy’s car. Teddy squawked in protest and Billy laughed harder. They flew past store after store and circled around the food court. Billy spotted a clothing store down the hallway and signalled to Miyu who nodded and took off in its direction. Billy pulled his frog shaped go kart up alongside Miyu’s rocket ship and hopped out of the driver's seat. Teddy pulled up a moment later, cramped into a dragon shaped cart that didn’t look like it appreciated having a high school quarterback as a passenger. Grumbling, he exited the tiny car and joined Billy and Miyu by the front of the store. 

“What are we doing here?” Teddy asked. 

“You desperately need some new clothes.” Billy said.

Teddy scoffed.

“I do _ not _ .”

Billy poked Teddy through one of the holes in his coat.

“Yes you  _ do _ .”

Teddy sighed and followed Billy into the store. Inside were all sorts of clothes. Billy watched as Teddy examined some shirts and various other items of clothing. Sighing he headed down one of the aisles browsing through the selection. Not that he needed new clothes. When they had stopped at his house Billy had been able to change and freshen up. But Teddy was in dire need of fashion help. He had worn the same coat and jeans since Billy had met him. Fortunately, he had been able to borrow one of Billy’s dad’s shirts before they had made their rushed exit. 

“Whatcha lookin for?”

Billy yelped and whirled around. Miyu was standing right behind him twirling an arrow in her hands with startling speed. 

“How do you do that?!”

“Do what?” Miyu asked.

“Oh I don’t know… sneak up on people and scare them to death?”

“I didn’t sneak up on you, I’ve been following you.”

_ Like that’s any better. _ Billy thought.

“How long have you been following me then?”

“Long enough to know that you talk to yourself  _ way _ too much.”

“Alright that's enough. I’m going to check on Teddy.”

Miyu frowned and tugged on Billy’s arm. 

“About that. I’ve obviously established that I don’t trust either of you. But be careful around him Billy. You think you know a person, and then just like that you don’t anymore.”

_ I’m not the one that needs to watch out. If he knew the whole story, he would leave me in the gutter in a heartbeat _ .

“Trust me on this. Teddy, he’s… he’s as good as it gets.” Billy said. 

Miyu nodded and gave him a wary look. Teddy’s smiling face appeared at the end of the aisle. He held up several shirts in his arms. They made their way to the back of the store where a bright blue sign read: dressing rooms, in fancy looping writing. Teddy disappeared into a room towards the front of the hallway for a few minutes before emerging wearing a red plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

Billy was  _ pretty _ sure he hadn’t had a thing for cowboys before. But If he hadn’t, he definitely did now.  _ Close your mouth fool. _ He silently cursed himself for being a complete asshat and shut his mouth. 

“What do you think?” Teddy asked.

Billy struggled to make words come out of his mouth.

“Howdy.” Billy said.

_ Whoever taught me how to speak made a big mistake.  _ Miyu giggled from behind Billy. 

“You look like a cowboy.” She said.

Teddy blushed harder and opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by a bell ringing from somewhere out in the mall. Miyu’s face went pale and she grabbed the bow from her back. Billy looked up at Teddy with confusion.

“What was that?” Teddy asked.

Miyu was silent for a moment before she shakily responded. 

“That’s the proximity alarm. Someone just got inside the mall.”

Billy barely had time to process what was happening before Miyu was dashing towards the entrance of the store, Billy and Teddy hot on her heels. When they reached the door Miyu peered outside into the hallway.

“Its empty.” she whispered. ‘We need to get to the security office. It's not too far from here.”

Billy nodded and the three of them quietly left the store, staying quiet and as out of sight as possible. After five minutes of creeping around they came to a smaller hallway that lead down to the public bathrooms. Miyu waved them over and they ran down the hallway stopping at a plain metal door set back into the wall. A placard on the wall read:  **Security** . Miyu reached into the pocket of her pants and removed a small set of keys. She flipped through them, finally inserting one into the lock on the handle. The door opened and revealed a small room with a long desk running along the three walls. Computer screens lined the dark walls of the room and displayed various parts of the mall. A pink sleeping bag had been unzipped on the floor underneath one of the desks and various items lay strewn across it. 

Miyu hurried over to the screens on one side of the room. Billy reached behind him and shut the door behind them. _ Best not to have any surprise visitors. _ He thought. Billy and Teddy joined Miyu at the computers , scanning the rooms and halls of the mall for whoever, or whatever, had made it inside. Out of the corner of his eye, Billy spotted movement at the bottom of his computer screen. He flicked his eyes over to the camera feed. The store shown on the screen was an electronics store. Several large figures milled about the entrance dressed in military fatigues. They each carried some kind of assault rifle or automatic weapon in their hands. 

“I found them!” Billy called.

Miyu and Teddy dashed over and examined the screen of Billy’s computer. 

“Soldiers? What are soldiers doing here?” Teddy asked.

“I don’t know but I don’t think they’re particularly friendly.” said Miyu, pointing to the guns in the soldiers hands. Just then a smaller soldier walked up to the camera. He waved the others over and pointed at the camera. Suddenly Billy realized who it was. The grainy quality of the feed had prevented him from recognizing him before. But now that he was up close Billy had no doubt in his mind of who the soldier was. He backed away from the computer and grabbed the wall for support. When had his knees gotten so shaky?  _ Please god no. How can he be here? _ Billy’s breathing went shallow and he almost collapsed against the wall. Teddy reached out and caught him before he could hit the floor. Teddy’s strong arms lifted Billy up and laid him gently in the swivel chair at one of the desks. Billy forced himself to focus on Teddy’s now blurry face in front of his. Teddy was calling his name, and shaking him lightly while Miyu stared in fear from the corner of the room.

“Billy?! Billy are you okay? Billy!” 

Billy’s vision cleared and he felt himself returning to reality. Teddy was kneeling on the floor in front of him, eyes full of concern. 

“What happened?” He asked.

Billy forced himself to speak. 

“Do you remember when I told you what happened to me?” he asked.

“Of course.” Teddy replied. He stroked Billy’s arm gently.

“I didn’t tell you everything.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow you made it to the end of another chapter, good for you! (Slow claps). Hope you enjoyed reading my first oc as much as I like writing her! As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated :)


	5. What Really Happened

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a backstory/plot heavy chapter but hopefully still enjoyable! Finally we get to see what happened to Billy;) Chapter 6 sometime in the next two or three days as my schedule is busying up. Happy reading!

They had been travelling for at least a month, if not more. Dry grass and dead flowers crunched under Billy’s feet as the group silently marched forwards. Billy was hanging towards the back watching the assorted members of his family and friends moving up to the opening in the trees signifying the open road. The sky above them was dark and cloudy. They would have to find shelter for the night somewhere, fast. 

Billy was roused from his thoughts by his sister, Dany, running back to walk with him. Her small ponytail bounced along with her as she ran, making Billy smile.

“Hi Billy! Daddy says we’ll be there soon.”

“Awesome Dany.” 

She smiled, showing off the gap in her mouth where she had lost her two front teeth just a few weeks ago, before running back up to walk with Billy’s mother. Billy watched as she slipped her hand into his mothers. It was easy, practiced, they had done it a hundred times before. Something to keep them grounded in the mess of a world they currently inhabited, at least that was Billy’s guess.

They had almost reached the highway now. More light permeated the dense canopy of trees, illuminating the grass under Billy’s feet. His father led the group on until finally the bleak asphalt of the highway stretched out before them. His father had always been a more rough cut man. He had joined the police force right out of college and had only quit when his first daughter, Abby, was born. After that he had taken an office job and over the next few years, Billy and Dany were born. He was strict, but fair, prone to the occasional outburst as any parent of three would be. 

Billy’s mother was a gentler presence in the house. She was a psychologist and had her own practice twenty minutes away from home. Her profession made her an invaluable source of wisdom and care in troubled times, but Billy couldn’t help but get the feeling that whenever she was looking at him she was trying to read his mind. Unfortunately, Billy had not received her mind powers, unless they were lying dormant, something that Billy refused to let himself believe was actually possible.

His sister Abby had dreamt of becoming a doctor since she was five years old. Now that she was twenty and in medical school, she was closer to that dream than ever.  _ At least she had been.  _ Billy thought. They hadn’t been able to contact Abby since the invasion had started. Billy had no idea if she was alive or rotting in a pile of corpses somewhere. 

He forced himself to push that thought out of his mind and focus on the road ahead of him. The highway was beginning to open up a bit more and Billy thought he could pick out some shops and gas stations not too far ahead of them. As they got closer he realized his assumptions were correct.

His father shouted back to the group.

“There’s a grocery store not too far ahead. We camp there for tonight.” 

There were some mutterings from the group and some people nodded their heads. After a month of travelling, they had picked up a few stragglers along the way. There was a Hispanic mother and her newborn that had joined them a few days after they had left home. Two brothers that they had picked up at a high school in the next town over. And to round out the group, an older man, in his mid 50s, that they had found sitting among his dead family in the street. They had only been able to learn his name after he wrote it down in the dirt next to his dead wife. Arthur had been mute for almost three years after a disease had hospitalized him and destroyed his vocal cords. Billy wasn’t particularly close with any of them except for Arthur. The old man was almost a calming presence in the midst of the destruction surrounding them. 

The group stopped at the front of a large store. Billy could tell it had once been a grocery store, but now the cheerful sign that said  _ Welcome! _ hung from one corner and the letters had peeled away so the sign now read _ We me! _ instead. 

Billy’s father turned to face the group. 

“Alright, you know the drill. Scouting crew with me!”

Billy, his father, and the two brothers made their way towards the entrance of the store. Behind them, Billy’s mother hugged Dany close to her leg and Arthur helped quiet the now crying baby. In case of an emergency, it was their job to get the children to safety, Billy and the others scouted out possible sources of food and supplies.

The automatic doors had long since stopped working and they had to pry them open to enter the store. Once inside, the putrid smell of rotten food reached Billy’s nose. He wrinkled his face up before covering his nose with his shirt. 

The four people set about scanning the store for any sign of life (more specifically life  _ after _ death). Billy slowly walked up and down the aisles, checking around each corner before turning it. Once he had finished making his loop he returned to the front of the dark store and waved the rest of the group inside. They followed him into the store and spread out, grabbing various items of unspoiled food. 

Billy found Arthur and walked with him around the store. Arthur was silent and didn’t grab much food off the shelves as they walked. He did however grab a case of twinkies and hand them to Billy. Patting his head before puttering off to a different part of the store. Billy examined the package with a smile before running off down the aisle to rejoin Arthur.

It happened so fast that Billy didn’t have time to fully register it. The lifeless had jumped out from behind the deli counter and lunged towards Billy. Arthur had turned around in a flash and pulled the creature off of him. The two had grappled for control, Billy wasn’t sure who had won until the zombie tossed Arthur like a ragdoll into the wall ten feet away. Billy saw through a haze, his father with a crossbow shooting the lifeless through the head, and Arthur’s body laying slumped in a corner, blood slowly dripping from the open wound in his chest. 

He didn’t think he was bitten. He couldn’t feel blood anywhere which he supposed was a good sign. Although he may have had a mild concussion from when his head hit the floor. His father pulled him up to his feet and the rest of the group came rushing over to the scene. But Billy ignored them. He ignored him mother, hurriedly checking him for any cuts or bite marks. He only saw Arthur. Arthur’s eyes were barely open anymore. They were fluttering weakly, and beneath the lids his pupils were darting back and forth.

Billy pulled away from the group and rushed to Arthur’s side. His parents called after him but he ignored them. Arthur stared up at him blankly and Billy felt tears welling up in his eyes.  _ No, you’re not going to cry. He deserves better than that before he dies. _ Shakily Arthur opened Billy’s hand and placed the tip of his finger on it. Billy knitted his brows together in confusion. He suddenly realized that Arthur was slowly tracing something in his hands. He focused on the letters. The store was silent as Arthur died; the only sound was of Billy sniffling and the slow, steady, drip of blood on the linoleum tiles.

_ Find Him. _

The words made no sense but Billy was sure that they were correct. A tear rolled down his face as he shook his head. Arthur smiled and slowly reached his hand into his pocket, removing a small piece of paper. He pressed it into Billy’s hands and curled Billy's fingers around it. Then his eyes closed and his breathing stopped. 

“Billy leave him. You know what happens now.”

Billy shook his head.

“You don’t want to see this, trust me.” It was his mother speaking.

Slowly, Billy backed up from Arthur’s body. His mother was right. The transformation could take minutes or it could take days. Regardless, they wanted to be far away from the corpse when it happened. The edges of the gash on Arthur’s chest had already turned a sickly greenish color and his face looked sunken. 

Silently, the group left the store. Even Billy’s father was silent and solemn-faced. As they made their way up the highway, Billy remembered the piece of paper. Hands shaking, he removed it from his pocket. On closer inspection, realized that it was not a simple piece of paper at all, but rather a photograph. A little boy’s face smiled up at Billy from the faded picture. It must have been at least a few years old. The boy in the picture would probably be around Billy’s age by now, if not then a bit older. He folded the paper back up neatly and returned it to his pocket. 

Night was falling fast and Billy’s father called out from up ahead that he had found shelter. An abandoned mall lay in front of them. A sign told Billy that this had once been the Concord Mall.  _ A Fun and Friendly Place For Everyone!  _ The slogan read.  _ I doubt that _ . Billy thought. They entered the mall and prepared to make camp for the night. They chose a store on the second floor as their base and set up sleeping bags along the back wall. Billy then realized how tired he was. They had been walking all day and grief had settled in the back of his mind. He had a feeling that no matter how hard he tried to get rid of it, it wasn’t going anywhere soon. His father and one of the brothers, Ryan, set up watch by the front of the store, keeping their weapon of choice close at hand.

Billy settled down in his sleeping bag, clutching the photograph close to his chest. His last thoughts as he drifted off to sleep were: _ I’ll find him. Whoever he is. I owe it to you. _

Some time later, Billy was awakened by his Mother frantically shaking him. He wiped his eyes sleepily and sat up. 

“Billy come on, get your sister up.”

“What’s going on?” Billy yawned.

“They’ve found us Billy. Come on hurry up!”

Billy jumped out of his sleeping bag and rushed over to his sister as his mother hurried to the front of the store. He shook his sister lightly and whispered her name. She sleepily opened her eyes and stared up at him.

“Billy? Is everything ok? Where’s mom and dad?”

“Shh it’s alright, mom just needs us to stay up for a little while. That’s all. I need you to stay here for a minute ok?”

“Ok.” Dany said, rubbing her eyes and sitting up.

Billy rushed to the front of the store, brushing by racks of clothing and displays as he ran. His parents were at the front of the store with Ryan and his brother. They were staring out into the dark of the mall with weapons drawn up.

“Where are they?” Billy whispered. 

His father pointed. In the darkness, Billy could see several shapes moving on the first floor of the mall by the doors they had entered through. He counted six of them but the darkness kept him from seeing any more.  _ Six? We can’t fight off that many at once. It’d be a bloodbath. _ Apparently, Billy’s father was thinking the same thing. 

“We run.” He said quietly. “Beth, get Dany, Imelda, and her child and search for another way out. If there isn’t one then meet us back here.”

Billy’s mother nodded and headed to the back of the store once again. Several minutes ticked by in complete silence. Billy watched the dark shapes growing steadily closer and closer through the dark. His mother returned after what seemed like forever, with Dany and Imelda by her side.

“There’s no other way out.” She said.

There was a moment of silence. Billy’s mother and father shared a look and in that moment, Billy noticed something pass between them. It was a look of understanding, of acceptance. It made Billy feel terrified. 

“Alright then. Ryan you lead the way. I’ll bring up the rear. Everyone stays silent and  _ out of sight _ , understand?” 

The group nodded and they headed into the dark. Quietly, they moved through the halls of the mall. Billy dug his fingernails into his palms until his knuckles turned white. They passed store after store, each dark window another possibility of lifeless lurking within. Finally they reached the escalators that led down to the first floor. They paused and waited for everyone in the group to catch up. Once Billy’s father gave the go ahead, one by one they made their way down the stairs. Ryan was the first to go, followed by Billy’s mother carrying Dany, Imelda and her child, Billy next, and bringing up the rear was Ryan’s brother and Billy’s father. 

Suddenly Ryan stopped dead in his tracks. Billy craned his neck around to see what had caused the halt. A lifeless had entered the atrium. 

This wasn’t like any other lifeless Billy had seen before. It was larger, with feet the size of Billy’s chest and claws to match. Its green skin was partially rotted away leaving the raw muscle underneath exposed. Red eyes glinted through the dark, searching, scanning, for something to kill. Billy’s breath caught in his chest and his head started to throb.

_ Oh shit. _

Everyone stood completely still. Billy could have sworn he could hear the creature’s shuffling footsteps from across the atrium. Each footfall made the ground shake a bit underneath his feet. Ryan began to make his way down the escalator one step at a time. Careful not to make a sound, the rest of the group followed suit. They crept over to hide behind the low stone wall surrounding the edges of the atrium. Billy watched as the mammoth corpse sniffed the ground and looked over to the escalators.

Suddenly a shrill scream rang out. Billy froze. A lifeless was diving towards his sister and his mother from the dark doorway of a store. A sharp  _ twang _ cut through the silence as Billy’s father fired the crossbow off. The bolt connected with the lifeless’ skull and drove through to the other side. It collapsed to the side but the damage had been done. Their presence had been made known to everything in the building, including the beast that was now eyeing up their position. 

Billy’s father struggled to load the next bolt into the crossbow. He took too long. The beast dove at him and pinned him to the ground, the crossbow scattered across the floor. Billy sprinted and ducked behind a trash can. Imelda and her baby had disappeared-presumably dashing off at the first sign of trouble. Ryan and his brother stood, weapons drawn, in front of Billy’s mother and Dany who was curled up in her mother’s arms. Three lifeless now approached them from all sides. They were trapped. The one directly in front of Ryan lunged first, but Ryan swung his bat and it connected with the side of the lifeless’ head. A sickening  _ crack _ reverberated through the atrium. The lifeless spun off confused for a moment as to where its head had gone and then crumpled to the floor. 

Ryan’s brother didn’t have as much luck. The lifeless swatted at his head and too slowly he raised his bat to defend himself. He went crashing into some tables a few yards away. Billy made sure the lifeless wasn’t looking and then crawled over to the unconscious boy. A few yards away, his father was still struggling with the large lifeless. Billy called out for his father and tossed the bat over to him. Billy’s father caught the bat and thrust it up into the beast’s chest. It howled and reeled backwards. But it was merely stunned and would soon recover. Fortunately it gave Billy enough time to check the boy’s pulse. Alive, but just barely. 

He stole a glimpse at Ryan who was now struggling to fight off the second lifeless. With a twinge of panic he noticed the third corpse making its way towards his mother and Dany. His mother had grabbed a chair from the ground and held it up in front of her. Her eyes burned fiercely, but Billy could tell she was exhausted from keeping the creature at bay. His father wasn’t doing much better either. The beast had returned and was again grappling with him. With a sudden burst of speed, the beast struck out and clawed his father across the face. He howled in pain and dropped to the ground. Satisfied with its work, the beast turned its attention to Billy’s mother and sister. 

It was then that Billy noticed the crossbow, still unloaded, not two yards away from him. He reached over and grabbed it, loading it quickly. The lifeless looked back at Billy and bared its teeth in something that almost resembled a smile. 

“Shoot it Billy!” His father shouted, writhing in pain.

Billy’s brain went into panic mode. His head was throbbing with pain and he could barely see ten feet across the darkened mall. The creature inched closer to his terrified mother and sister. Billy tried his best to focus his mind. 

The rest of the world dropped away. His father’s screams, Ryan’s body hitting the ground, the pounding in his head, all of it dulled. He pulled back the bolt, curled around the trigger, and pulled.

The metal bolt flew threw the air, whistling as it went, and landed with a thud two feet to the left of the beast. The beast almost seemed to smile back at Billy as it lunged forward and ripped his mother open. Billy was vaguely aware of screaming and charging the beast with a chair. The next thing he felt was the agony of something sharp ripping his leg open to the bone and the feeling of flying backwards through the air before his head connected with the escalator and his vision went dark.

When Billy finally came to, the sun was shining through the glass ceiling of the atrium. He looked down and almost vomited at the sight of himself. His leg was mangled so horribly that he could see the bone underneath. He lay in a small pool of his own blood, up against the stone wall. His mother and sister’s bodies were nowhere to be found. But his father and the two brothers sat at a table a couple yards away from Billy. They were gathering their things into bags and preparing to leave the area. Billy opened his cracked lips and tried to call out to them but the only sound that left his mouth was a small moan. Ryan noticed and nudged Billy’s father. 

“He’s alive.” The words were barely audible.

Billy’s father looked up and over at Billy. He slowly walked over to him and knelt by Billy’s body. 

“What do we do with him?” Ryan asked.

Billy looked up at his father with desperation. Silently pleading for him to help him... or end it. His father stared back at him with a mixture of sadness and pity. But there was something else hidden in his eyes. Billy recognized that look. It was disappointment, hatred. Billy had failed him, and because of that, his wife and daughter were dead. Billy had failed, and they were gone.

“We leave him. He’s as good as dead anyway.” 

With that, the three men shouldered their packs and left Billy. Billy sat there, by the escalator, for six days. Without food, without water, and without hope. For the first day he forced himself to stay strong. It wasn’t too hard. The searing pain in his leg gave him something to focus on; something to think about. On the second day, the pain started to fade, and it got harder and harder to ignore his thoughts. By the third day, he had grown used to the pain, and his thoughts had come rushing in like a tidal wave; crashing over his mind. And then Billy cried. He cried for his mother, his sister, and his friend. All dead. All because of him. On the fifth day, he gave up. He simply closed his eyes and let the hunger in his stomach and the guilt in his mind consume him. No longer did he have the strength to fight off the pain or the thoughts that bombarded him. 

On the final day, he awoke to find a blonde boy crouched over him. Billy was completely delirious at that point. But he couldn’t help but think that the boy was the handsomest thing he had ever seen. Like an angel, that had appeared to take him away. Billy was sure he had finally died and gone to heaven. The only reason he knew he hadn’t, was because he didn’t deserve to go to heaven, and he definitely wasn’t in hell.

  
  


Billy realized he was crying and wiped his face with his sleeve. Teddy knelt in front of him with a broken expression on his face. Teddy had been crying too; his eyes were red and puffy and tear tracks marked his face. Miyu stood in the corner of the room, gripping the desk with such ferocity that Billy thought for sure she would break it. 

“Billy I-” Teddy stopped. He simply couldn’t find the words. Instead, he stood up and wrapped Billy in a tight hug. Billy allowed himself to lean into the embrace, placing his head on Teddy’s chest and letting his breathing slow down. 

“Billy I’m so, so, sorry. I had no idea.” Teddy spoke softly and quietly into Billy’s ear. Billy pressed his face into the warm fabric of Teddy’s shirt, wetting it with his tears. He was pretty sure that he could have stayed like that forever, wrapped up in Teddy’s arms, but right now, they had work to do. 

Billy allowed himself another minute before finally forcing himself to pull away from Teddy. He walked over to the computer screen. The soldiers had moved from the store now and were making their way down the main hall of the Mall. Billy pointed to the lead soldier. 

“How did you recognize him?” Miyu asked. 

The man’s face came into view once more. Just enough for Billy to see the long, three pronged, scar running across the man’s face.

“He’s the reason that all of this happened. That man is my father.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Hope you enjoyed that!” He said, wiping the characters’ blood off his hands with a smile. All comments and kudos are welcomed :)


	6. Jesus Take the Wheel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is getting uploaded at like midnight because I guess thats just my schedule now... Anyways, at the time this is being posted this fic has almost a HUNDRED hits, which might not seem like a lot to many people but lemme tell you if you had told me at the beginning of this that a hundred people would have actually taken the time to read my weird ass shit I would NOT have believed you. Thanks so much for your support!

Teddy, Billy, and Miyu crept along the small hallway. Just ahead, the sound of boots hitting the floor and the shuffle of automatic weapons permeated the eerie silence. Teddy held Billy’s hand in his. He didn’t care what anyone thought, Billy needed him, and there was no way in hell he was going to let him go. 

He gave Billy’s hand a slight squeeze. Billy squeezed back and gave Teddy a small smile. The butterflies that had taken up a permanent residence in Teddy’s stomach did a happy little dance.  _ God he’s amazing _ . 

Teddy peeked around the corner into the large open space of the mall. 6 soldiers in combat gear were slowly making their way towards them. The one in front was older than the others and had a large three pronged scar running diagonally across his face. 

Teddy looked back at Billy and Miyu. They nodded at him solemnly. With a deep breath, Teddy walked out from behind the corner with his hands up. Billy and Miyu followed suit, staying close behind him. 

Two of the soldiers immediately noticed him and trained their guns at the approaching kids. They called out to the large one.  _ Billy’s dad _ . Teddy reminded himself. Billy’s dad looked up from the blood drops he was examining on the ground.

The recognition was instant. A shocked silence hung in the air, as if the world itself was too nervous to take a breath in case it missed what happened next. Teddy made a silent promise to Billy that he would do whatever it took to make sure he was safe. If this man was going to hurt Billy, then he was going to have to get through Teddy first. 

But it seems Teddy’s promise was unnecessary. Billy’s father dropped his gun to the ground ( _ rather unsafe _ in Teddy’s opinion) and ran to hug his child. Billy stood there for a moment, dumbfounded, before wrapping his arms around his father in return. They stayed like that for a moment, neither having the bravery to pull away first, or perhaps neither wanting to. Finally Billy broke the embrace.

“Billy - you’re, you’re  _ alive. _ ” 

“Well don’t act all  _ surprised _ .”

“But your leg! How did you-?” Billy’s father trailed off. Billy nodded his head at Teddy. A look of understanding crossed his father’s face. He let go of Billy and walked over to Teddy. Teddy sucked in a breath. There was a moment of awkward silence. _ Who goes first? Do I say something? Should I wait? I’m getting some mixed signals here _ . But Teddy didn’t have to wait long. Billy’s father stuck out his hand. Teddy cautiously grabbed it and promptly shook it.

“Thank you, whoever you are, for saving my son’s life.”

“It’s Teddy. And trust me, it’s nothing any decent person wouldn’t have done.”

Billy’s father’s hand went stiff for a moment in Teddy’s hand. Then it relaxed, as if he decided it wasn’t worth the energy to respond. His face turned serious once again.

“We should get out of the open. The humvees are just outside.”

The men behind him nodded and two ran off the direction they had come. 

“Humvees?” Miyu asked.

Teddy jumped. He had almost forgotten Miyu was present, much less willing to contribute to the conversation. Billy’s father smiled.

“And who might you be little miss?”

“Miyu. And I’m not  _ little _ I’m _ fun size _ . There’s a difference.”

“I’m sure there is. My mistake.”

“I’ll allow it just this once, but make it again and I’ll cut you.”

She turned away, scowling. Billy’s father looked surprised... and a little amused. To someone who didn’t know Miyu, those threats could have seemed empty, but Teddy knew better. 

“Alright, let’s move out!” Billy’s father called.

The remaining soldiers raised their weapons once more and fell into formation behind Teddy and Miyu. Billy joined his father up by the front of the group. Teddy wanted to go be near him, to let him know that he was there, but something told him to let Billy have some time to catch up with his dad. Instead, Teddy attempted a normal human conversation with Miyu. Teddy should have remembered that Miyu wasn’t a normal human. 

“So are you happy to finally leave?” He asked.

“You mean am I happy to leave the place where for the past few months I’ve been living in constant fear of a fate worse than death? Yeah I guess you could say I’m a little excited.”

“Sorry. It’s just you seem a little nervous.”

“Teddy, I’m a ten year old girl, surrounded by older, heavily armed, men in a barren wasteland. How am I supposed to feel?”

Teddy realized that Miyu did have a point. His size had always made him less afraid of older, larger, people. Was this how Miyu felt?  _ Is this how Billy feels? _

“I guess I just never looked at it that way. You know I wouldn’t do anything like that though. Neither would Billy.” Teddy said.

“I know. But you can’t do much against seven automatic weapons can you?”

“Fair point.” 

“Billy likes you ya know.”

Teddy froze.  _ He what? _ He reminded himself that this information was coming from the ten year old girl who just said she didn’t trust him. But even despite that, his stomach couldn’t help but do a flip.  _ Just play it casual. _

“Well yeah I mean we’re pretty good friends by now I guess.”

_ Not THAT casual idiot.  _

Miyu rolled her eyes.

“No, I meant he  _ likes you _ likes you.”

“He’s not even gay!” Teddy whisper shouted back.

“Teddy, the boy wears a rainbow belt by _ choice _ and has one pair of skinny jeans that he would probably take a bullet for. You seriously want to tell me he’s not gay?”

“Straight people can wear stuff like that too.” Teddy said.

“Even if that was true, he told me he did… so I’m definitely right here.”

At this point Teddy was _seriously_ starting to consider that maybe his feelings for Billy weren’t as one sided as he thought. He really wanted it to be true. He wanted to believe that the wonderful boy that he had met only a couple weeks before was as in love with Teddy as Teddy was with him. _Oh my god listen to yourself._ _You’re so overdramatic you could give Meryl Streep a run for her money. _He shook his head. _No one can give Meryl Streep a run for her money._

He was roused from his thoughts by the hum of a loud engine. Outside the glass doors of the entrance to the mall, two large military jeeps were parked. There was a soldier in each waiting for them. Billy’s father led them up to the jeep in the back. He patted Billy on the shoulder and hugged him briefly.

“These will take us back to home base. Mark here will be your driver.”

The man that Teddy assumed was Mark waved from the driver seat.

“We should be there in a little under an hour. I’ll be in that Humvee right in front of you.” He gestured to the jeep at the front of the little caravan. 

“Home base?” Teddy asked. 

Billy gave him a look that said  _ I’ll explain later _ .

“ _ Alright, in we go. _ ” Mark called.

Teddy, Billy, and Miyu clambered into the back of the jeep. With a roar of the engine, the humvee lurched forwards, before picking up speed and heading out after the front car. Teddy thought about asking what had happened with Billy’s father but decided against it.  _ He’s been through a lot today. He’ll tell me when he’s ready.  _ Luckily Teddy didn’t have to wait long. Billy was in a particularly chatty mood and talked for almost the first half an hour of the trip. He was smiling almost the whole time. 

“So where exactly are they taking us?” Teddy asked.

“Some inactive army base I think. At least it was inactive until a couple months ago. Since the invasion started people have been going there to find refuge. Apparently they’re even working on a possible cure to the infection. Or at least something that stops the process from happening and will prevent any further outbreaks.”

“That’s amazing!” Teddy said. 

Billy grinned. 

“Yeah but that’s not even the best part.”

“What’s the best part?” Teddy asked.

“Teddy, my  _ sister  _ is there. She’s alive. She made it!”

That’s when the first lifeless hit. It hit the hood of the car with a thud and went crashing through the air. The humvee came to a screeching halt. Mark leaned back to check on them. 

“Everyone alright back there?”

They nodded.

“We just hit a stray lifeless. It’s alright. It’s rare but it hap-” 

A rotted hand crashed through the window of the driver’s seat and grabbed Mark around the neck. A snap later, Mark’s head lolled to on side and he lay slumped in his chair. 

Miyu screamed. Teddy wasn’t sure, but he might have too. He frantically undid the covering over his window and took a glance outside. He instantly wished he hadn’t. A horde of lifeless was approaching the humvee, shuffling slowly,  _ not slowly enough,  _ towards them. Some type of strange wolf like creature walked among them.  _ A mutated dog? _ Teddy had never seen anything like it before. He supposed it made sense that humans weren’t the only living creatures affected by the disease. He also supposed that he wouldn’t live too much longer if they didn’t get the car moving fast. He clambered into the front seat of the car. Billy shouted after him. 

“Teddy what the hell are you doing!?”

“Well someone’s got to get this car moving!” 

That was all the convincing Billy needed. He tugged on the back of Teddy’s shirt and pointed to the gun lying in the passenger seat. 

“I’ll drive, you shoot. It’ll give us a better chance.”

“You can drive?” Teddy asked.

Billy bit his lip.

“ _ Technically _ , yes.  _ Legally _ , no.”

Miyu leaned forwards out of the back seat. 

“If either of you gets us killed, I will  _ personally _ make your lives a living hell.”

With that, Teddy got into position in the passenger’s seat. With Teddy’s help, Billy pulled Mark’s limp body into the backseat before climbing up to the front himself. A lifeless lunged towards the open window of the Humvee, but before he could touch it, Billy hit the gas pedal. The humvee jumped forwards and began to speed down the road. The other vehicle was a speck in the distance by now. 

“Punch it Billy!” Miyu yelled.

Billy floored the pedal and the Humvee gained some speed, pressing forwards. Teddy glanced behind them out the window. To his disdain, the dogs in the horde had pursued them. They bounded forwards toward the car with their mouths hanging open like they were waiting for a bone.  _ How are they moving that fast? _ Teddy wondered. Then Teddy decided to stop being a fool and opened fire. 

His first shot missed by a large margin. The shaking of the humvee threw off his aim. But Teddy’s next shot hit one of the zombie dogs in the leg. It flopped to the asphalt before getting back up and limping onwards. Fortunately, it had no chance of catching up with them now. He managed to get a few more shots off and hit one of the dogs in the head. But before Teddy could take aim at the last one, it ducked to the other side of the Humvee, and out of Teddy’s eyesight. 

“I can’t get the last one!” He shouted over the roar of the wind.

“Well we can’t lead it back to base!” Billy called.

“I’ll handle it.” 

Billy and Teddy looked to the backseat. Miyu loaded the shotgun in her hands. 

“Where did you get that!?” Billy shouted.

Miyu shrugged.

“Found it under the backseat.”

Miyu stood up on one of the seats and removed the top flap of the jeep, using the support bars on either side of her to balance. Teddy heard a loud crack and then a long silence before Miyu hopped back down into the car.

“It’s been taken care of.”

Billy gave Teddy a look that was somewhere between moderate horror and total admiration. Teddy shrugged back.

Slowly, the car’s speed reduced until they were at a speed more tolerable to the human body. The front car was now only a little ways ahead of them and they could easily keep within sight of it. Ten minutes later, a small blob on the horizon came into view. As they got closer, the blob separated, and began to take the shape of smaller greyish looking buildings. Teddy could see figures milling about beyond the fence. Actual people, not lifeless, or a golf ball with eyes Teddy had used to keep sane. Real, flesh and blood people. 

As they approached, The car in front of them slowed down, kicking up dust in a little cloud. At last they had reached the front gate. 

They were here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter done, another step closer to Billy and Teddy getting over themselves and making out. Progress! Next chapter will be up tm or the day after. Comments and Kudos are always appreciated :)


	7. The Tinker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow guess who’s posting at midnight yet again. Yay me! Sorry for the small delay in getting this chapter out, like I said my schedule has been super busy, but I do try my best! This chapter introduces some more of my oc’s so hopefully you enjoy them as much as I do. Happy reading :)

Billy released his grip on the steering wheel and relaxed back into the leather of the driver’s seat. He let out a breath that he didn’t realize he was holding in and heard Teddy do the same next to him. His father and the soldiers in the Humvee ahead of them were casually strolling over to the passenger side of Billy’s car. Once his father saw him sitting in the driver’s seat however he picked up his speed, breaking into a sprint, the other soldiers following suit. 

When he got to the car Billy just shook his head forlornly. It only took one glance in the backseat to realize what had happened. Billy’s father turned around.

“Medic! We need a medic over here NOW!” He shouted.

The soldiers scrambled to obey the command, scattering like mice afraid of a cat. Billy shook his head again.

“I’m sorry. He’s dead. We couldn’t help him.” Billy said, shaking his head.

“I can see that. I’m worried about you Billy.”

“But he-”

“We’ll mourn the dead later. For now we need to get you safe.”

He opened the car door and Billy stumbled to the ground. His bad leg wobbled for a moment but righted itself. On the other side of the Humvee, Teddy was lifting Miyu out of the backseat. A team of people dressed in white jackets rushed over to them. Two were carrying first aid kits. Billy noticed, with a twinge of guilt, that one of them was carrying a body bag. The medical team was shouting orders at them now. Soldiers cleared a path for them as they approached. 

“No one touch them!” A stern voice shouted. “They’ll have to go through quarantine. Rosenbaum check them for bites.”

“If it saves time, I can tell you we weren’t bitten,” Teddy said, “We didn’t even leave the car.”

“With all due respect sir, that’s exactly what someone who was bitten would say.” One of the medics said.

The medic who had spoken before was now helping to lift Mark’s body out of the back of the humvee. Billy looked away and Teddy wrapped an arm around his shoulder. The other medic, presumably Rosenbaum, was scanning them one by one with a device emitting a soft green light. After a full scan was complete, the device gave a little beep and Rosenbaum moved on to the next person. 

“They’ll have to go through the new arrivals elevator and undergo a full decontamination, but after that, they all seem perfectly healthy.” The first medic said. Then she turned to Billy. 

“But I most certainly have to take a look at that leg. Whoever wrapped it did a fine job, but with a wound like that, fine doesn’t cover it.”

The medics ushered them across the worn complex, to a set of double doors with large metal gates across it. This section of the compound was roped off and only the soldiers, doctors, Billy, Teddy, and Miyu, entered. When they reached the gates, Billy’s father pulled out a small card from his pocket. With a swipe against a small black panel, the metal gate popped open and they were allowed inside. 

The elevator they entered was relatively nice for a doomsday bunker. At least that’s what Billy thought. He had never been in a doomsday bunker before so he wasn’t entirely sure.  _ It must be relatively large. There a quite a few people staying here. _ At least that’s what his father had said. Billy still wasn’t entirely sure he could trust his father. It had all felt so confusing when after leaving Billy to die, he had embraced him with open arms, not even a month and a half later. He also caught his father giving him strange looks when he thought Billy wasn’t looking. After many years in the public school system, Billy liked to think he had gotten pretty good at reading people. But his father was impossible to pin down. Billy didn’t like the feeling.

He pushed the thought out of his mind as the elevator gave a soft ding and the doors slid open. A soft voice greeted them with,  _ Welcome to level 2 - Medical Department. Security Access 4.  _

The medics ushered them out of the elevator and into a large open room lined with beds and carts full of tools and supplies. There were a couple doors leading off to various other rooms. Billy noticed one that read Operating Room and another that read Gregory Smeader-Department Head. A small group of medics brought the soldiers over to a small glass room with a heavy metal door. The medics ushered the soldier inside, shut the door, and then pressed a combination of buttons on a nearby wall panel. A soft blue light radiated from the ceiling for a few seconds before shutting off. The light pulsed a few more times before the medics finally allowed the soldiers to leave. The group left the medbay through a set of double doors directly adjacent to the decontamination chamber. 

Billy craned his neck to try and see outside, but with no luck. Rosenbaum returned to Billy, Teddy, and Miyu. He led them over to the small chamber and hesitantly they entered. Once they were inside, Rosenbaum shut the door behind them with a loud  _ clang _ . He then pressed a slightly different combination of buttons and his voice came over a PA system hidden somewhere in the floor. 

“Alright there’s no need to be nervous. We’re just doing a routine decontamination. It should only take a few seconds. If everything goes correctly then you should be out of here in now time.”

“What do you mean  _ if everything goes correctly? _ ” Miyu asked.

“Well we once had someone’s eyes melt out and someone else got scales. But other than that it’s perfectly safe.”

Rosenbaum flashed a smile and Miyu grinned deviously.

“Do you think that’ll happen to me?” She asked Billy.

Billy shook his head.

“Of course not. The machine works fine.”

Billy couldn’t help but notice the disappointed look on Miyu’s face.

“But there’s always an outside chance that you may get laser-eyes.”

Miyu’s eyes widened.

“What are laser-eyes?” she whispered.

“Laser eyes? With laser eyes you can melt people’s faces just by looking at them” Billy replied.

“ _ I  _ want to melt people’s faces.” Miyu muttered.

The blue light pulsed over Billy’s body and he felt a rush of cool air against his face. It was over after just a few seconds and Rosenbaum opened the metal door to let them out. Billy felt almost cleaner somehow. His skin felt less dirty and less toxic than it had before. Miyu sulked next to Billy.

“Nothing happened.” She said

“Maybe that’s because you don’t need superpowers to be awesome.” Billy replied.

Miyu thought for a moment.

“That’s the biggest load of bullshit I have ever heard.” She then turned to the medic. “Am I free to go?” She asked.

The medic nodded.

“Your tour guide will be her in just a moment.”

“Tour Guide?” Teddy asked.

The double doors leading to the rest of the complex burst open and a girl a few years older than Billy ran in. Her auburn hair was pulled into a bun behind her head and a light smattering of freckles covered the bridge of her nose. She wore a plain set of civilian clothes unlike the doctors occupying the medbay. Billy grinned. The girl’s face lit up and she ran over to Billy, wrapping him in a tight hug.

“I knew it! I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!” She shouted. “Dad told me what happened but I didn’t believe it. Not for one second!”

Billy pulled back from the hug and gripped his sister’s arms.

“How are you alive?” He gasped.

“It’s a long story, and one for another time. I’m in charge of leading you-” she paused as she noticed Teddy in the corner, “And this charming young cowboy here, around the compound.”

Abby turned and winked at Billy who turned beet red and punched her arm. One of the medics from the team earlier, pulled Abby aside and murmured something to her. Abby nodded and then rejoined them. 

“Ready for the tour?” Abby asked.

Billy nodded and they headed through the set of double doors, down a short concrete hallway, and into the compound.

Billy couldn’t believe his eyes. His father had told him what to expect and yet his eyes still had trouble seeing what was in front of them. _ I guess after spending the past few months of your life in a literal wasteland anything is an improvement.  _

They stood at the top floor of a large, open atrium. Billy took a peek over the side of the railing and counted the floors to the bottom where a small fountain bubbled. People wearing civilian clothes milled about, walking across the floor, or sitting on one of the stone benches surrounding the fountain. In fact, Billy could see many small groups of people walking around on the various floors of the complex.  _ What could it all be for? _ Billy wondered. 

Abby led them to a stairwell on the wall a few feet away.

“These stairwells connect every level of the compound accessible to occupants. But luckily for you Billy, we also have a set of elevators that can do just the same.” she gestured to Billy’s leg.

Abby then led them around the veranda to the middle wall of the floor. There, two sets of elevator doors, like the ones in the medbay, sat unused. Suddenly, with a light ding, the set of doors on the right opened and a small group of armed soldiers stepped out. Abby gave them a small salute and they returned the greeting before heading off towards the medbay.

“Is the medbay the only way to get in or out?” Billy asked.

“Good question. It actually isn’t. The medbay is on level 2. The floor above us is the garage, where they keep all of the vehicles not currently in use. Those guys were probably just headed in for an exam or something like that.”

“So then how do you get to the garage if there are no stairs there?”

Abby led them inside the elevators and let the doors close behind them. Unlike the elevator they had arrived in, this one had a larger display of buttons.  _ Ten floors. _ Billy noticed.The button on top displayed a tiny glowing number one on it. But this button wasn’t like the other buttons. It had a tiny red ring glowing around the edge of it. The button for level 5 was the same.

“All personnel with access to the garage have special badges. If they want to go there, they just press the button, swipe their badge, and then off they go.” she made a little whooshing sound with her mouth. 

Abby pressed the button for floor two and the elevator began to move. 

“Floor two is where all of the living quarters are. We have enough rooms and supplies here to support about 300 people for several decades. Or 299 people and one my dad for about a month or two.”

The elevator doors opened and let them out onto a floor near the bottom of the atrium. This floor was a little more spacious, with long hallways branching off in several directions. Abby pulled out a set of keys and started off down a hallway to the left. A few minutes later they arrived at a door marked 78 and stopped. Abby turned to Billy and handed him a lanyard with an ID card on it. The ID card had a tiny green stripe on the bottom. 

“Alright then Billy, this is going to be your room. You can go ahead on in while I get this fine cowboy and his little friend situated.” 

Billy gripped the lanyard by the string and hesitated for a moment.

“Where will they be staying?” He asked. 

“Oh cowboy here will just be staying across the hall from you,” she gestured to the door on the other side of the hallway, marked with a 79, “And this little warrior here will be staying on the other side of the building with me.” 

Billy fully expected Miyu to begin complaining, or at least scowl and curse. But to his surprise she stayed completely calm. 

“Dope.” she said.

Billy turned away from the horrifying display of emotion that Miyu had displayed and instead unlocked his room. The metal door opened with a faint  _ swish _ and disappeared into the wall.

Inside the room was pretty barebones. A small bunk was situated in an alcove on one wall. Above and beneath the bed, there were cabinets and drawers for storage of clothes and other personal items. On the other side of the room, a desk was situated against the wall with a rather uncomfortable looking chair pushed into it. There was a tiny mirror in the room, hung on the far wall above a small dresser, and that was it.

_ Well it’s a step up from the roof of a Macy’s  _ Billy thought to himself. He then realized he had nothing to really make the room his. They had arrived with nothing other than the (rather tattered) clothes off their back. How would they pay for anything? What would they eat and drink? He left the room and closed the door behind him, wrapping his lanyard around his neck. After a moment, Teddy rejoined them in the hallway, bumping Billy with his shoulder. The move made Billy’s stomach flutter for a second before settling down.

“Abby, this is all great don’t get me wrong, to even have a safe space to exist feels amazing trust me, but how are we going to pay for anything?” Billy asked.

Abby smiled.

“Let me show you.”

She led them back down the hallway and out into the atrium once more. This time when they got in the elevator, she pressed the button for floor 3. The doors opened and Billy saw before him a vibrant marketplace. Many different vendors stood in their stalls trying to sell various items and trinkets to passerby. 

“Most people that live here have jobs,” Abby continued, “But the standard meal options are free. Like I said before, we have plenty of supplies and some people can’t afford many fancy things. However you can buy nicer food if you have the money to spend. Or, you can spend it here.” 

They walked among the stalls and Billy stopped occasionally to look at various items that vendors were offering. 

“This is amazing.” he whispered.

Abby smiled at him, “I know right!”

Just then Abby caught sight of a boy at one of the stalls up ahead. Billy wasn’t surprised; it was hard to miss him. He had crazy purple hair that stood up at awkward angles. Billy couldn’t help but think it was vaguely reminiscent of something Lady Gaga would wear when she was trying to seem loud and overdramatic. Abby called out to the boy. He looked up and made his way over to them. 

“Billy, Teddy, Miyu, this is Ricky.” 

“But you can call me Tinker.” the boy said with a smile.

The nickname made sense. The boy was covered in grease and soot, and a dirty pair of mechanic’s gloves stuck out of his back pocket. Nevertheless he seemed bright and bubbly. As if someone just told him a big secret and he was about to tell everyone he knew.

“So what brings you to the marketplace?” He asked.

“Tour of the facility.” Abby replied.

“Ah some new blood, fantastic!”

Miyu giggled behind them.

“What? Did I say something funny?” Tinker asked. “I ask because it happens so often sometimes I miss it.” He winked.

“You said blood.” she giggled.

Billy gave Tinker his best _ I don’t understand it either _ face. Tinker shrugged and pocketed the shiny metal tube he was holding. 

“How would you guys like to see what I’m working on?”

Miyu nodded enthusiastically. Abby turned to Billy and Teddy.

“Sounds fun I guess.” Billy said.

“Trust me.” Tinker said, “You won’t be disappointed.”

Tinker set off through the marketplace and back towards the elevator. Billy made a mental note to come back and visit properly with Teddy when he had the chance. As if on cue, Teddy brushed his shoulder up against Billy’s. Teddy smiled lightly down at him. The action was simple, yet comforting. Something familiar and safe to latch onto in the storm of change surrounding them. 

Once they reached the elevator, Tinker pressed the button for level 3. The elevator doors closed and they began to rise. When the doors opened, Billy found himself in a large workshop. The room was rather dim, only lit by a few lights giving off a faint glow, and the slow orange burn of the forge fire on the far side of the room. Workbenches surrounded the perimeter of the room, cluttered with various tools and pieces of metal. The place was foreign to Billy, but Tinker seemed right at home as he wove his way through the equipment.

“Um, no offense or anything,” Billy began, “but why is it so dark in here? Isn’t that kind of a safety hazard?” He said, nudging a small piece of metal  _ just _ the right size to impale him. 

“Nah.” Tinker said. “I’m actually pretty much blind in my right eye so you would think so, but I basically _ live _ in this workshop so I know it pretty well.” He waved them over to where he was standing.

In the center of the room, on a workbench that was relatively uncluttered, ( _ Relatively being the keyword. _ Billy thought.) a large hand pistol was resting, set on a metal stand. Tinker picked it up and handed it to Teddy, 

“Go ahead, try it.”

Teddy hesitated a moment but finally trained the gun on the small target in the back of the room. At first Billy didn’t realize the gun had even gone off. But a small hole appeared right above the center of the target. 

“Alright, alright, we get it you’re good with a gun.” Tinker took the weapon back from Teddy who now looked slightly embarrassed. Billy smirked at him and received a look in return. 

“This here is completely silent. For every shot. One of my prides. I could tell you how I do it but that would be cheating.”

He paused.

“Ok  _ fine  _ I’ll tell you. It's all magnetic. Genius. I know! There’s a small but powerful magnet inside that is pressing against the bullet. Right now, a clamp is preventing the magnet from forcing the bullet through the barrel. But when the clamp is released,” he pulled the trigger and there was a small click as a mechanism inside the pistol released and then reset itself. “The bullet is propelled outward and into whatever poor zombie that tries to kill you.”

Abby nudged Tinker with her elbow.

“Right!” He added. Out of his pocket he pulled several plastic looking tubes. “Now this gun isn’t just useful for bullets. I’m sure Abby has told you that her genius self and the rest of the scientists here have come close to finding a sort of cure. Now that's where  _ I  _ come in. The cure can be loaded into capsules like these and fired out of the gun at your enemies. Then,  _ voíla,  _ a cured person!”

Billy’s mouth hung open. Was it really that simple? Was there really a way to undo all of this? All of the hurt and pain the world had felt for the past year? He and Teddy made eye contact. A look passed between them that said one thing.  _ The amount of people we could have saved with this.  _ Tinker placed the pistol back on the table. 

“But nevertheless, it is a work in progress. Plus you just got here! There's no reason for you to stress about all this stuff right now. I’ll let this lovely lady continue to show you what our lovely compound has to offer. He turned away and began fiddling with some of the parts Billy had seen him pick up from the marketplace. 

The rest of the tour went relatively fast for Billy. Abby led them through each floor, one by one and Billy realized there was much more to the compound than he had previously thought. There was a gym and training course for the soldiers, a full sized swimming pool, a library (to Billy’s delight), and a shooting range. Not to mention the biggest cafeteria Billy had ever been in. It made his school cafeteria look like the murder bathroom from  _ Saw _ . 

Billy spent the next week getting further acquainted with as much of the compound as he could. He and Teddy took to wandering the hallways and spending the day in whatever room they came across. That was how they had found themselves in the library one morning and by afternoon they were both drenched with water and dealing with some very unhappy pool goers. 

He only saw his father and sister at mealtimes. They were both busy with military business and had little time to spend with him. But Billy understood what they were doing was far more important. But that didn’t mean he had to  _ like  _ it. Miyu spent most of her time either in the training room, practicing knife throwing with some of the soldiers foolish enough to accept her challenge, or with Tinker in the shop. Sometimes Billy and Teddy would join them and the group would help out where they could. Billy  _ was _ still a nerd, so naturally he wanted to learn as much as he could about Tinker’s work.  _ I’ve got to be helpful in some way.  _

His proudest contribution was suggesting that the barrel of the magnopistol (as Tinker had begun to call it) be lined with low power magnets to help improve its accuracy. Tinker had gripped his shoulders, shook him, and sprinted off into the depths of the shop, returning with a bin full of old parts. After some small adjustments, he had Teddy try out the gun once more. This time he hit the center of the target almost every time.

They celebrated later on at dinner, where Abby had bought them all ice cream. Billy had almost forgotten what it tasted like. He tried to make it last as long as it could before it melted.

After two weeks in the compound, Billy was feeling a bit more adjusted. He sat on the edge of the fountain with Teddy, eating some grapes they had received (stolen) from the kitchen. Billy was in a state of bliss. He had spent the morning in the library reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix out loud, with his head in Teddy’s lap while Teddy played with his hair. They had migrated over to the kitchen for lunch and had gotten promptly chased out of the cafeteria (they weren’t very  _ good _ at stealing) and had landed in the courtyard, sitting with their backs to the fountain.

“Do you want to get married?” The question slipped out of Billy’s mouth before he could catch himself. Next to him, Teddy made a small choking sound as he inhaled a grape. Billy did some quick mental gymnastics.

“I mean like, theoretically?” He added. “Would you still get married in the apocalypse? How can you raise a family surrounded by zombies?”

_ That was close you fool. Watch your mouth the next time you eat grapes. _

Teddy paused for a moment before answering.

“I guess I’d just have to find the right person.” He said.

“Well good luck to you then. Unless it’s one of these 200 plus people you’re going to have a hard time finding the right person.”

“It might be easier than you think.” Teddy said, leaning back so his arm stretched behind Billy’s shoulder. Billy had never had a friend like Teddy before. To be fair he had never really had many friends before so there wasn’t that much competition. Aside from the fact that Teddy had a jawline that could cut steel, blue eyes that could make you feel like the only person in the world when you stared into them, and how he was basically two times bigger than Billy, he also seemed very comfortable around Billy. He wasn’t afraid to brush shoulders, or hug Billy when he was going through a rough patch, and it drove Billy absolutely insane. 

Billy loved Teddy with every ounce of his being, and he was sure, if he really did have a soul, that he loved him with every ounce of that too. The fact that Teddy was definitely not gay and  _ definitely _ not interested made him want to punch something. 

“Hey don’t forget, meet me in the lounge at 7:00 tonight alright? I have a surprise for you.” Teddy said.

Billy furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. 

“What surprise?”

“Well if I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise now would it?” Teddy replied.

Billy smiled and slapped his arm. Teddy rose from the bench and checked his watch.

“I’d better get going.” He said.

“Why? Got a hot date?” Billy asked.

“Not quite. Your sister asked to meet me on level 2 at 3:00 today. Said something about planning something or whatever.”

“Alright then. See you at 7?” He asked.

Teddy smiled and nodded back at him.

“7.” 

With that he walked off towards the elevator. Billy sighed and watched him go.  _ Well what the hell am I supposed to do for 4 hours then? _

As it turned out, Tinker and Miyu were both  _ terrible _ at chutes and ladders. After their fifth game, Miyu flipped the board and Tinker threw a wrench at the wall.

“Relax guys, it's just a game.” Billy said. Although it came out as more of a hoarse whisper as he was also cackling on the floor. 

“OoOo relax Miyu it’s just a game.” Miyu said.

Tinker’s face got serious and he pointed at Billy, which to his credit just made him look like a constipated goose. Of course this made Billy laugh harder.

“You sir, are no longer welcome in my shop. The door is that way.”

“Fine, fine!” Billy laughed. “I should be going anyway, I have to meet Teddy in an hour.”

Miyu frowned at Billy.

“Why do you need an hour to get ready?”

Billy’s face flushed.

“Uh I uh, I just want some time to myself is all.” He stammered.

Miyu and Tinker shared a look.

“Uh huh, of course you do. We  _ totally _ understand.” Miyu said.

Billy ignored them and picked up the board from where it had landed a few feet to the left. As he left the workshop he turned to look over his shoulder.

“Same time tomorrow then?” He smirked.

He ducked out of the way as a screwdriver hit the wall just to the right of him. Billy took that as his cue to leave and headed down to the bunks. On his way, he returned the game board to the third floor lounge, saying a quick hello to some of the soldiers stationed on the floor. When he reached his bunk, he flopped onto his bed and lay there for a few minutes, staring at the ceiling. He checked the clock on the desk. _ 6:30 _ . He lay there for a couple minutes more. At one point he raised one arm and then let it fall back onto the bed. He checked his hair. He adjusted his clothes. He checked his breath. _ Why are you doing that? _ Finally, he looked back over at the clock. _ 6:31 _ . He sighed and flopped back onto his bed. Suddenly Billy felt an emotion he hadn’t felt in a couple days. Billy realized he was  _ nervous _ . Why was he nervous? He had felt so relaxed around Teddy for the past couple days which was surprising seeing as he was head over heels for him.  _ Oh please don’t start sweating _ . 

At 6:55 he opened his door and made his way down the hallway. He was so nervous that at one point he tripped over his shoelace and nearly face planted. But he righted himself and kept moving. Finally he reached the lounge. Hands shaking, he opened the door. 

The Inside of the lounge was covered with pillows and blankets. A small string of fairy lights hung from the ceiling above a large pillow fort that covered about half of the floor. On the far wall of the room, a large white sheet was pulled taut. Across from it, on a small cart, lay a projector. And in the middle of it all, holding a bowl of popcorn, and grinning like a five year old kid, was Teddy. Billy couldn’t help but break into a smile. 

“You did all of this for me?”

“Correction, I did all of this for you and free popcorn.” 

“You’re actually a five year old kid, aren't you?” Billy laughed. 

Billy made his way to the center of the fort, where a makeshift bed had been made; perfect for seeing the makeshift screen. Billy and Teddy laid down on the blankets and Billy snuggled into the blankets next to Teddy. The room felt a noticeable amount colder than the rest of the compound.  _ Did he turn down the thermostat? Can you even do that in a military compound?  _

“You have a real talent for this you know. You should work as a pillow fort architect. Put your skills to good use.” 

Teddy laughed and fiddled with a button on the projector. The light blinked for a moment and then stayed on. 

“So what are we watching?” Billy asked.

“Shh, You’ll see.” Teddy whispered.

Billy waited in silence for a moment before the screen finally lit up. Maria Von Trapp was dancing across a mountain top, singing her heart out.

_ “The hills are alive with the sound of music.”  _ She sang.

Billy grinned. 

“You remembered!” 

“What do you mean? Of course I remembered.”

“How did you even get all of this?”

“A few well placed bribes and a sister who is  _ way _ too involved in your personal life.” Teddy murmured. “

“That’s Abby for you. Loves to get super interested in my life for no reason.”

Billy wasn’t sure exactly when he drifted off to sleep. He remembered that the Von Trapps were dancing on screen in a musical number, but that didn’t exactly help him narrow it down. But Billy thought he heard the faint sound of Teddy whispering something to him before he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok I KNOW that the Billy/Teddy relationship has taken a backseat in portions of the story, but I PROMISE next chapter we’ll be getting a lot more action on that front. That being said chapter eight will probably be out in the next couple days. Please leave a comment or kudos below to let me know how I’m doing so far :)


	8. The Big Bang

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promised more relationship progress in this chapter and I didn’t break that promise! This chapter sets up the big finale of the fic so hopefully you enjoy it :)

Billy woke up the next morning with his head on Teddy’s chest. He could feel Teddy’s muscles underneath the thin shirt, and Billy’s head rose and fell slightly with each of his breaths. 

Everything was perfect. Well, everything was perfect  _ except _ for the alarm blaring through the compound. The red emergency lights flashed from their casing on the wall of the lounge. Billy jerked his head up off of Teddy and scrambled to his feet.  _ What’s going on? _ Billy had been asking that question a lot recently.

Billy ran over to the doorway and poked his head into the hallway just in time to catch two soldiers running past. He was able to catch just a bit of what they were saying as they rushed by. 

“The kid was right…”

“The source was there all along…”

Billy shook his head in confusion.  _ Maybe Teddy will know what’s happening.  _ He knelt down next to Teddy and shook him.  _ Don’t think about how gorgeous he is just wake him up. _ Teddy stirred and blinked open his eyes. He smiled when he saw Billy leaning over him. 

“Hey, good morn-” Teddy stopped and a frown crossed his face.

“What’s going on?” He asked.

“I don’t know.” Billy said. “I just woke up and soldiers were running past. Something about finding a source for something-”

“A cure source? Is that what they said?” Teddy interrupted. His eyes were going wide now and Billy thought he could detect a hint of fear in them. Why, he had no idea.

“Yeah I think that's what they said.” 

Teddy ran over to the door. 

“This soon?” He asked himself. “Abby said we at least had another week.”

Billy crossed the room and laid his hand on Teddy’s arm. Teddy jumped at the sudden contact. 

“Teddy, what’s going on? What did Abby tell you?”

“I’m really sorry Billy but I can’t tell you everything. At least not until I get permission.” He turned back towards the door. 

“I just didn’t think it would be this _ soon _ .” He whispered. “I have to go. They need me.”

“Who needs you Teddy? What’s going on?”

“I really wish I could tell you Billy I really do but they won’t let me...”

Teddy turned to Billy with an expression of anguish on his face. The tears in his eyes left glimmering tracks down his face and it broke Billy’s heart. Teddy wrapped his arms around Billy and held him tightly. Billy squeezed back just as strong, not willing to let him go.  _ Everything was going so well… I just want him to be okay.  _ Teddy pulled away from Billy and reluctantly headed towards the door. In a last ditch effort, Billy called out for him.

“Wait!”

Teddy froze.

He turned back to Billy and stared at him. Billy met his eyes and looked deep into the blue. There was fear in his eyes, but there was also something else. Billy realized, with a pang in his heart, that it was _ longing _ . In that moment, Billy wondered if perhaps Teddy might care about him the way he did for Teddy.  _ Kiss him. _ His brain whispered. His body listened.

Billy rushed forward, threw his arms around Teddy’s neck, and pressed his lips against Teddy’s. He was vaguely aware of how stupid he was being, but he didn’t care.  _ He was kissing Teddy _ . Even if it was just this once, even if it never happened again, he was kissing Teddy. 

He pulled back and looked down at his feet. There was a shocked look on Teddy’s face and Billy felt a rush of guilt wash over his face.  _ Teddy didn’t want me to kiss him _ . Billy thought. A tear slowly slid down Billy’s cheek.  _ You really messed it up this time Billy, congratulations you’ve lost the only person who ever really understood you in one move. _

Billy felt a hand on his chin. Teddy slowly tilted Billy’s face upwards towards his and met Billy’s eyes. There was a warmth there. The warmth that Billy had come to associate Teddy with over the course of their friendship. 

And then  _ Teddy _ was kissing  _ Billy _ . It was Billy’s turn to be shocked now.  _ Teddy was kissing him _ . And it was a thousand times better than Billy ever could have imagined it would be. He stood on the balls of his feet and leaned into the kiss, smiling when Teddy lowered his hands from Billy’s face and wrapped his thick arms around Billy’s waist. The rest of the world seem to pass by in slow motion, the faint tick of the clock on the wall, the alarm blaring, the soldiers rushing past, all of it was gone. Billy felt, for the first time in his life, like he was exactly where he was supposed to be. 

Teddy pulled back and smiled down softly at Billy. A deep blush spread across Billy’s face as he met Teddy’s eyes. 

“I have been wanting to do that for a _ long _ time.” Teddy said. His voice was soft and fell over Billy like a warm blanket. 

“Well I beat you there.” _ Stupid don’t be sarcastic, be romantic. _

Teddy smiled wider and pressed his forehead down onto Billy’s. 

_ How the hell do you be romantic again!? _

Billy settled for resting his head on Teddy’s chest and melting into his arms.

“Please don’t go. I don’t know what I’d do if you didn’t come back.”

Teddy cradled Billy’s head in his hand and stayed silent for a moment. Billy wondered if he had done enough to change Teddy’s mind.

“I’m sorry. I have to.”

“I just don’t know why you have to.”

Teddy pulled away from Billy and kissed his forehead.

“I’ll be make sure to explain it when I get back then.”

With that Teddy gave Billy a smile and headed out the door. Billy stood there for a moment and let the emotional firestorm inside him calm down a little. He wasn’t quite sure how to feel. He was happy, deliriously happy, that the pangs in his heart he had been feeling for the past weeks hadn’t been in vain. And he was also worried and nervous that what he had might be taken away just as quickly as he had gotten it. 

Once he had collected himself, he turned his thoughts to the next important thing in his mind. Miyu.  _ She must be terrified _ . He paused.  _ Who am I kidding she’s probably gearing up for war _ . Billy took five minutes to tidy up the lounge and then made his way into the hallway. 

The red lights flashed and illuminated the hallway in small bursts as Billy rushed along, staying out of the way of the occasional soldier making his way in the opposite direction. When he reached the main atrium, he found exactly what he had expected: a crowd of anxious looking people causing a small commotion as they tried to find out what was going on from the few soldiers stationed in front of the elevators.

Billy ignored the crowd and headed in the direction of the stairs. He paused for a moment. Would Miyu really be in her room during all of this? After a moment’s thought, he headed in the direction of Tinker’s workshop instead. 

Billy bounded up the stairs and sprinted through the now relatively empty halls until he reached the metal door leading to the workshop. He shoved open the door and entered the dimly lit space. The workshop seemed almost messier than usual.  _ An impressive feat considering Tinker’s track record. _ To Billy’s relief, Miyu sat cross legged on the ground next to a large machine, fiddling with a screwdriver. She did  _ not _ look happy.

“Miyu!”

She looked up.

“Jesus what happened to you?”

Billy blushed. He didn’t look that messed up did he. A look of realization dawned on Miyu’s face.

“Oh my god he finally did it didn’t he! I called it. I so totally called it. Tinker now owes me a grand total of ten bucks. Lucky for him I also accept payment in the form of ice cream sandwiches and other assorted desserts.”

“Nothing happened!” Billy protested.

Miyu cocked an eyebrow.

“Alright fine maybe a _ little _ thing happened.” 

She smiled and leapt to her feet. 

“I knew you guys would get there someday. I had hoped it would be sooner rather than later too, the way you two talk about each other when the other isn’t around is  _ sickening _ .”

He talks about me? Billy thought.

“Nevermind that. I came to make sure you were okay.”

“Okay? Billy do you know what's going on?”

“Well no not exactly-”

“Do you have anything to defend yourself with?”

“No but-”

“Do you even know how to get out of here without being spotted by every guard in the facility?”

“No.” Billy admitted.

“Do me a favor,” Miyu said, “if I ever get captured by someone, which luckily for you is highly unlikely, let me escape on my own.”

She patted Billy on the arm, ignoring his shocked expression, and led him out of the door.

“Wait where’s Tinker?” Billy asked.

Miyu’s face scrunched up in annoyance.

“He left a little while ago, with the soldiers. Said I couldn’t go ‘because I was too young’. So I told him that every lifeless within half a mile would be able to spot him because of his dumb hair.”

“Well what did he say after that?”

“He left.”

“Oh okay then.” 

They walked in silence for another moment. 

“So what do we do now?” Miyu asked. “Just wait?”

Billy thought for a moment. 

“There are two floors that are restricted to civilians, floors one and five. Floor one is obviously the garage which means that the base of operations must be on five. If we want to know what’s going on, that's where we’ll find answers ”

“If it’s restricted we’re going to need a keycard, any ideas about that?” Miyu asked.

“I think I have an idea.”

Ten minutes later he and Miyu were in position. Billy stumbled up to the guard stationed by the 6th floor elevator. He was clutching his arm, dripping with red motor oil, and moaning slightly. The guard looked up in surprise and Billy collapsed by his feet. The guard hoisted Billy up to his knees and looked at his arm.

“Sir? Sir? Are you alright? Can you hear me? What happened?”

Billy just stared absently past his head. To the guard it looked like Billy was delusional from the blood loss. However Billy was actually watching the elevator number’s creep slowly upwards. 

_ 4... _

_ 5… _

_ 6… _

_ Now! _

Billy let out a loud groan just as the elevator doors opened behind the guard with a small ding. Miyu silently reached out and severed the guard’s security card from his belt with the pliers they had swiped from Tinker’s workbench. She gave Billy a thumbs up and the elevator doors closed silently in front of her. Billy sat up abruptly, startling the guard.

“ _ Terribly _ sorry about that.” He said.

The guard looked shocked.

“But you were delirious just a moment ago!” He said.

“Yes and now I’m fine.  _ Do _ try to keep up.”

Billy straightened himself and walked off towards the stairs, leaving the guard kneeling on the ground, still quite confused. He rejoined Miyu in the elevator on floor 4. 

“See I told you it would work.” Billy said.

“Mmhm. I’ll give you this one. I thought you were a  _ bit _ heavy on the drama.”

“Hey well Billy’s my name, drama is my - middle name I guess. Yeah okay I messed that up but the point is it worked.”

“Yes it did.” Miyu sighed.

“You ready to find out what’s really happening?” Billy asked.

“Hell yeah I am.”

Billy took a deep breath and swiped the badge on the black scanner box before pressing the button for floor 5. The button glowed a light red and the elevator lurched upward. With light  _ ding _ , the elevator stopped and the doors opened.

“ _ Welcome to level 5 _ ”.

Soldiers rushed about on the floor but no one paid particular attention to Billy and Miyu as they passed. Even so, they kept to the shadows when they could and walked with a purpose. Of course they had no idea where they were headed. Miyu stayed behind Billy, mostly because they were afraid that a little girl wandering around would cause more suspicion than a lanky teenage boy. As Billy made his way around a corner, he spotted out of the corner of his eye something peculiar. It was a soldier, walking alone. At first glance he looked normal. But his clothes were ruffled and stuck out compared to the crisp outfits of the rest of the soldiers rushing around. His eyes were glazed over and were a piercing green. Billy jumped when the soldier turned to look at Billy. He smiled and gave Billy a little salute before walking off in the other direction. Billy pushed the thought from his mind.  _ You’ve seen  _ ** _much_ ** _ weirder things today. _

They came to the end of the hallway where a large set of heavy duty metal doors blocked their path. There were no soldiers at this end of the hallway, presumably any guards had been either restationed or called for the mission. Billy tried the handle.

“Locked.”

Miyu pointed to the black scanner box to the left of the door. Billy swiped the card. The box gave a little beep and the door swung open. 

The inside of the room was dark and cold, and mist swirled around Billy and Miyu’s feet as they entered the room. The only light that illuminated the room came from the row of tanks, running down the center of the room, filled with a blueish green liquid. The ones closest to Billy were occupied, but the ones towards the far end of the room were left empty. Billy walked up to the first tank and peered inside, Miyu shut the door behind them. He recoiled in horror as he realized what was inside.

_ Why would they keep lifeless here? _

Inside the tank, a half-rotted corpse hung, suspended by a metal brace running up it’s back. It was smaller - probably a half changed adult. Billy’s eyes moved to the plaque on the front of the tank. It read: Specimen 1A “Drone”.  _ Drone. What does it mean drone? _ He moved on to the next tank and looked inside. A similar body hung there and the same description hung on the outside of the tank. He skipped ahead a few tanks and read the plaque on the outside. Specimen 3A “Eradicator”. He looked inside and felt his heart drop to the bottom of his stomach. In the tank, a beast just like the one that killed half his family was suspended in the liquid. This one was bigger and tougher. Its skin was rotted off and odd bones poked out at weird angles making it look like the creature had spikes peppered across its back. He pulled back and shuddered. With a sinking feeling, he looked at the number of tanks that still remained. _ If this one isn’t the worst, then how many more can there be? _ Billy wondered. 

He spotted a desk at the far end of the room and made his way over to it. The surface was cluttered and messy. Billy grabbed a folder from the top of a small stack and flipped it open. Inside was a journal entry detailing the behavior and appearance of the Drone in the first tank. Billy replaced the folder and grabbed another from the stack. The journal entry inside told of specimen 6A “The Silencer”. As Billy read, panic began to enclose around his mind like a fist tightening. 

_ The silencer is perhaps one of the most dangerous specimens in our collection here. Not only does it seem to be capable of direct communication with the hive leader, but we also suspect that it has something that has not been observed in any other specimen, a near human capacity for processing information. This coupled with the fact that it appears nearly human, with only slight deformities, makes the silencer a near perfect spy- _

_ No, no, no.  _ He dropped the folder and rushed over to the tank indicated on the entry. The tank was empty.

_ We're in deep shit now.  _

Billy stepped forwards but stopped when his foot splashed in something. He looked down at his shoe to find it sitting in a small pool of dark red liquid. He swallowed hard and made his way around the edge of the tank. Billy almost vomited. 

“I think I found the guard.” he said.

Miyu’s eyes widened and she looked away. Billy returned to the folder, searching for something. His fingers closed around a glossy paper and he pulled. A full sized photograph of the full tank met Billy’s eyes and his suspicions were confirmed. 

“We need to hurry.” He said. 

They rushed out into the hallway, searching for a soldier, any soldier. No luck.  _ Where are they!?  _ Billy thought. _ They can’t have all left.  _ Finally they reached a larger open space where a crowd of soldiers were huddled around a table. As they hurried closer, Billy saw the table was actually a small scale model of the surrounding area. A glowing red line marked the position of the troops out in the field. The line was reaching further and further across the table, almost reaching the edge, before the model shifted and its surface changed. Now displaying a new swatch of land. The red line appeared at its edge and once again began travelling across the tabletop. 

The soldiers looked up as Billy and Miyu entered the room. An older looking man, with a gray beard and sharp eyes walked up to them. He was dressed differently than the other soldiers, instead wearing a jacket and combat pants.  _ Must be important _ . 

“How did you get here?” His voice was stern but not entirely unkind.

“There’s no time.” Billy panted. “They’re here.”

The man gave him a confused look.

“What do you mean son. Who’s they? And speak quickly before I have you thrown out.”

“The lifeless, they’re in the compound.”

“I’m afraid that’s impossible young man. We have very strict security here. I highly doubt-”

“I have proof!”

_ Nice going idiot you just interrupted someone who could probably have you put to death. _ Luckily for Billy, the man motioned to two of the soldiers across the room. 

“Let him show you what proof he has. If it’s something then bring it back to me, if not, then have the boy thrown out.”

Billy wasn’t sure if he meant thrown out of the floor, or possibly thrown out into the barren wasteland outside, but he decided he didn’t want to find out. The soldier followed Billy back to the lab. Billy was sprinting and the soldier grumbled as he kept up with all of his gear. When they reached the lab, the soldier used his card and they entered. Billy motioned over to where the dead body was. After that, the soldier didn’t waste a moment. He pulled out his radio and pistol, holding one in each hand. 

“Hawk 1 to Base Command we have a silencer loose in the compound, I repeat, we have a silencer loose in the compound, over.”

Then the lights went out. The room went pitch black, now the only light, coming from the flashlight on the soldier’s pistol. He ushered them outside and towards the Elevator.

“Where are we going?” Billy whispered as they crept along the abandoned hallway.

“We’re not going anywhere. You’re going back downstairs where it’s safe and I’m going up to the garage as indicated by lockdown procedure.”

He dropped Billy and Miyu off at the silent elevator. The doors reflected the light off the flashlight and Billy squinted against the glare. 

“Wait here until the power comes back on, you should be safe. I’ll send someone in a while to make sure you made it downstairs alright.”

“But you’re a footsoldier, you can’t make anyone do anything.” Miyu whispered.

“Sit down, and shut up.” the soldier replied. With that he headed off into the darkness. Billy sat down and watched the soldier’s light disappear around the corner. Once it was gone, he leapt to his feet. Miyu looked up. 

“Where are  _ you _ going?”

“Garage, duh.”

She smiled and jumped up. 

“Well then, what are we waiting for?”

They made their way through the darkness and around the corner until they could see the light from the soldier’s flashlight a little ways ahead. They followed him through the dark, occasionally dodging the light from other soldiers. After a few minutes of creeping along the wall, the light came to a stop. A small click was heard and Billy recognized the sound of a door opening. He waited a minute for the door to close and then made his way over. The same small click rang out when Billy swiped his stolen badge and the door popped open. 

_ Oh great, stairs _ . 

Next to him, Miyu sucked in a breath and Billy could tell she was thinking the exact same thing. Slowly they made their way up one step at a time. When they finally reached the landing at the top of the stairwell, Billy promptly discovered the door to the garage by slamming into it headfirst. Rubbing his head he swiped the keycard and once again, the door popped open. Red light flooded into the stairwell from the space before them. 

_ Emergency lights huh. Could’ve used those in the stairwell _ .

Vehicles lined the walls of the concrete chamber. The floor was slanted and curved into a ramp leading further upwards. 

“Which way?” Miyu asked.

“Up I guess.” Billy shrugged. 

They set off up the ramp looking at the various types of vehicles contained in the garage. They passed cars, jeeps, and even what looked like a small tank as they made their way to the top of the floor. As they reached the top of the ramp and rounded the last corner they came upon a dismal scene. A small stream of blood trickled down the concrete towards them coming from the small pile of bodies stacked against the largest metal door Billy had ever seen in his life. It was on tracks so it could be rolled aside to let vehicles pass through. A misshapen figure bent over the pile of bodies, fiddling with something in its hands. As Billy and Miyu approached, it looked up and Billy recognized the soldier he had spotted in the hallway from before. Once again he smiled wickedly and blinked his eyes, now full slits, before giving Billy a mock salute.

The Silencer.

Billy called out in vain as he realized what the silencer was holding, and what lay underneath the pile of bodies. He tackled Miyu to the ground and leapt behind the wall as the lit match tumbled from the silencers hands and lit the gasoline on the ground. The last thing Billy saw before he was flung backwards into the concrete, was a giant ball of fire consuming the air around him, reaching out like a fiery claw. And then,

Sunlight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feelings - confessed!  
Zombies - Being zombies!  
Things - Blown Up!  
The final chapters are almost complete! As always feel free to comment and leave kudos! All is appreciated :)


	9. Patient Zero

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The penultimate chapter is here!! We get some more Teddy in this one which is always fun to write. This chapter starts out pretty relationship focused but then takes a deep dive into plot stuff so be prepared. Enjoy reading :)

Billy was kissing him.

Teddy’s mind went blank for a moment. It wasn’t a  _ lack _ of emotion so much as  _ every single emotion crashing over him at once _ . How was this happening? Why was this happening? Had the universe decided to finally give him one thing?  _ The thing I want most? _

Then, all too soon, Billy was pulling away and looking at his feet, and suddenly Teddy realized what he had done wrong. _ You were so preoccupied with the fact that he was kissing you that you forgot to kiss him back dumbass _ . Teddy could feel the shame radiating off of Billy and he knew that right now Billy probably felt like he wanted to curl up in a ball somewhere and hide for the rest of his life. It crushed Teddy’s heart just thinking about it. 

Teddy gently put his hand on Billy’s chin and tilted his head up so it was parallel with his own. He stared into Billy’s eyes, brimming with tears, and met them with his own. Pouring all of the happiness and love he could into his gaze. Then, slowly, he closed the gap between them. Their lips brushed and Teddy felt sparks fly from his brain all the way down to his feet. He leaned into the kiss and savored the feeling coursing through his veins.  _ God, I’ve been waiting so long for this _ . He lowered his arms from Billy’s face to wrap around his waist so he could hug him closer against his body. He knew it was stupid, but Teddy wanted to wrap Billy up in his arms and never let him go. He would stay like this, holding Billy, and forget about all of his responsibilities and problems.  _ Shit, my responsibilities and problems! _ Teddy pulled away reluctantly.

“I have been wanting to do that for a _ long _ time.” Teddy said. He smiled down at Billy. 

“Well I beat you there.” Billy said, the faintest smile spreading across his face. _ God I love it when he’s sarcastic. _

Teddy smiled wider and pressed his forehead down onto Billy’s. They stood there for a moment, simply savoring the sound of one another breathing and the warmth of their bodies.

“Please don’t go. I don’t know what I’d do if you didn’t come back.” Billy whispered.

Teddy cradled Billy’s head in his hand and stayed silent for a moment. He could feel his heart breaking slowly as he forced himself to let go of the boy in his arms. 

“I’m sorry. I have to.”

_ Oh that’s a terrible excuse and you know it. _

“I just don’t know why you have to.”

Teddy pulled away from Billy and kissed his forehead.

“I’ll be make sure to explain it when I get back then.”

With that, he gave Billy one last look and headed out the open door, into the frantic rush of the hallway. He broke into a run as he got closer to the atrium. The wet feeling on his cheeks told him that he was probably crying but he dismissed the thought. The fact that he had finally gotten the one thing he had needed after so long only to maybe never see him again, was almost too much to process. He reached the elevator and pressed the up button. His hands were shaking so badly that he missed the first time and he took a moment to collect himself before trying again. 

Once inside, he swiped his security badge and pressed the button for level 5. The elevator doors closed with a  _ ding _ and began upwards. Teddy walked into a scene that looked like it was right out of a horror movie. A flashing red light bathed the once bright hallways and soldiers rushed by, guns in hand, and terrified expressions stretched across their faces. He made his way around the swarm and to the command center. Abby was there, hunched over the command table. A small model of a hospital was laid out on the table’s surface. She looked up as Teddy approached the table. 

“This our target?” He asked.

She nodded.

“We found out last night, one of the new arrivals gave us details that matched up with what you told us about the hive’s location. If I’m right, and I’m pretty sure I’m right, this should be where the invasion first started.”

Teddy shuddered. He was absolutely sure that this was the last place on Earth he wanted to go. But he had no choice. He knew the layout of that place better than anyone else in the room did, and he hated that.

“This is the missing piece we were looking for.” Abby continued. “If we can find a pure, untainted form of the virus instead of the contaminated copies we’ve been studying, we can finally find a solution to this thing. We can beat it.” She noticed Teddy’s grim silence.

Teddy nodded his head. 

“This will be dangerous. There is a chance you may not come back.”

“Never stopped me before.” 

“Alright then, not like you have a choice anyway since you’ve basically been  _ drafted  _ by my father.” Teddy thought he could detect a slight note of malice in her voice but he dismissed it. 

“Suit up, we move out in ten, brief on the way.”

Exactly seven minutes later, Teddy stood, decked out in a soldier’s outfit, in the garage. He was virtually indistinguishable from the soldiers standing adjacent to him. Billy’s father stood in front of the group of five soldiers pacing back and forth. He looked them up and down, a stern look on his face.

“You know what we’re riding into?” He asked. The group remained silent.

“Right here, right now, we have a chance to end this. Not stop them for a day, not for a week, but for forever. Thanks to the science department we have a chance to start over. We have a fighting chance. Something  _ real _ . There is a high chance that you may not come back. We have no way of knowing what kind of resistance we’ll meet when we get there. There could be one lifeless there could be one hundred i don’t give a damn. You fight, you fight for your people, for your home, and for our planet. Like it or not, that’s the cold, hard, truth. It’s your choice whether you choose to do something about it or not.”

He stopped pacing and stood in front of them. 

“God have mercy on us all.”

The group silently entered the humvees and pulled out of the garage. The large metal door slid open for them. Sunlight streamed into the dark tunnel, making Teddy blink for a moment. The humvee engine roared and they pulled out of the fenced off compound, picking up speed. Teddy adjusted himself in his seat, examining the new weapons they had received courtesy of Tinker. It was the model Teddy had tried in the workshop, but an improved version. He decided he wouldn’t use it unless he absolutely had to. They were so close to a cure, it would be terrible to put a bullet through a lifeless’ head only to find out that they could be cured so soon. 

The soldier in the passenger seat in front of him turned to face the two soldiers in the backseat. She was a young woman, probably late 20’s or early 30’s, and had a serious, no nonsense face.  _ Billy would have called it a grumpy cat face _ . Teddy smiled to himself. 

Alright men, when we get to the hospital we get in, get what we need, and get out got it? We’ll station a few men outside to guard our exit point while the second team enters the hospital. The second team will find the entrance point to the basement and work from there. Once we get on site, Commander Kaplan will give you your group assignments, Group one you’ll be with me.”

Teddy nodded. He was silent for the rest of the hour long ride, thinking about Billy. He made a promise to himself that no matter  _ what _ , he would get back to him.  _ The devil himself could crawl up from hell and I’d tell him to shut up and sit down while I do what I need to do to get back to Billy _ . He pictured the perfect image of Billy’s face, long and angular, with an oversized nose and the most beautiful lips Teddy had ever seen. He imagined the way Billy’s hair rose in crazy spikes when he had just woken up, and the wave over his forehead when it was brushed to the side. He sighed to himself.  _ God I love him so much. _

Trees and abandoned houses rushed by Teddy’s eyes, passing in and out of sight in a never ending line. The ground was cracked and blistered after months of the sun beating down on it. A large white building came into view ahead of the humvee. It had perhaps once been beautiful. Teddy could imagine the way the sun would have reflected off of the sloped windows, creating an almost angelic image; a place where people would go to be cared for, not to die. Now the windows were cracked and shattered. Rubble stood in small piles surrounding the desolate landscape. As they got closer, Teddy noticed small barricades surrounding the building; simple structures made of sandbags and bits of concrete cobbled together. He remembered it all. The way a barricade had broken, rubble trapping his mother underneath. There was nothing Teddy could have done. 

That had been almost a year ago, at the beginning of the invasion. Teddy and his mother had been out of the city for a week and were looking for somewhere safe. The hospital had seemed like a safe option. 

They were wrong.

The swarm had almost overtaken them. It wasn’t until later, after the tears had ended and the loneliness had set in that Teddy had realized what the hospital actually was.

Teddy imagined what it would have been like to be working in the hospital when the first case had presented itself. He imagined the panicked doctors and nurses fighting for their lives against a growing horde of creatures that looked like they had been plucked straight from a nightmare. They of course had failed, the disease had spread, and now here was Teddy at the end of the cycle. 

As they pulled up outside of the hospital, the hair on the back of Teddy’s neck stood up. There was something in the air that put him on edge, something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. It was as if the air was infected too. As if just breathing this air, his body was slowly degrading, bit by bit, into a brainless monster. The small group gathered in front of the barricades. Abby and her father hopped out of the other Humvee and headed to the front of the group. They were followed by a group of three more soldiers, who filed in next to Teddy’s group.

“This is it.” Billy’s father began. “Once we head inside here there’s no guarantees. You have to be completely 100% ready to give everything you have, even your life. No guarantees.”

“Alright then, if I call out your name, your with me and grumpypants here on team two. Everyone else is on team one.”

She began to rattle off the short list of names and Teddy listened intently. 

“Altman, you’re with us as well.”

Teddy wasn’t sure if he was relieved or terrified, so he decided to settle for nervous and call it a day. The group that Abby had called followed her inside the barricades and into the hospital grounds. Teddy gave one last glance back at the humvees, wondering if he would ever see them again, before turning back and forging ahead.

“Once we get inside,” Abby’s voice crackled over the radio in Teddy’s helmet, “We pair up and find a stairwell leading down. The hive will be located below the ground. Once we’ve found one we collect a sample from patient zero, plant the explosive charges, and run like hell.”

The group turned on their flashlights and headed inside, guns pointed ahead. Teddy hadn’t even made it this far before the lifeless had attacked last time. Now, the building was eerily silent, as if it was waiting for them to go just a bit further, a bit deeper inside, until they couldn't turn back. 

The hallway they entered was littered with broken bits of plaster and glass, that crunched under their boots. They passed empty room after empty room, each one more ransacked than the last. It was as if a meteor had hit in the center of the hospital and they were getting closer to ground zero. Suddenly Teddy spotted a sign on the wall not to far away. He motioned to his partner who covered his back as he made his way over. Teddy scanned the list of places on the plaque, stopping when he found the one he was looking for,  _ stairwell _ . There was a tiny arrow pointing to his left, so Teddy cautiously crept down the hallway to his left. He passed a few dark rooms before coming upon a black hole in the wall. There once had been a door there. In fact, if he shined his flashlight across the hall, he could see where it had landed after being ripped off of its hinges. 

He pressed the button on the side of his helmet.

“I found the stairwell, East Wing, left hand hallway.”

“Copy that. On our way.”

A minute later, several beams of light cut sliced through the darkness down the hall from Teddy. As they got closer, he could make out the individual shapes of his squad. They stopped next to him and shined their lights down below. Even the intense power of the military flashlights had trouble piercing the darkness that hung like a fog around the stairwell in front of them. Teddy waited silently for a command. 

“Alright the two of you stay up here, the rest come with me and Abby down below. If we take more than ten minutes, send one of yourselves down to check on us, if he doesn’t come back up, then assume the worst and leave immediately. Understand?”

The two soldiers nodded. Teddy stared into the darkness below. A soldier, that Teddy could only assume was Billy’s father, began down the steps cautiously. Teddy realized his hands were shaking and he forced himself to steady them. The darkness wrapped around them like vines, closing them off from the world above. The light from Teddy’s gun illuminated enough for him to see the soldier in front of him, but no further. 

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, they found a large hole in the wall. Bits of plaster and metal curved away from the hole and towards Teddy.  _ Like something ripped its way out. _ A soft green light emanated from the tear in the wall, illuminating enough for Teddy to see the rest of his squad. Billy’s father moved forwards through the tear, gun raised. The lifeless came leaping towards him almost out of nowhere, almost before he could react. A soft click and then a sharp whistle was heard and the lifeless hit the ground. Teddy looked around. Abby’s hands were raised, gun clasped tightly, and fingers trembling. She lowered the gun slowly and nodded at her father who returned the gesture. _ Sure he’s grateful when someone saves his life but can’t bother to save his only son.  _

“Masks on.” the radio crackled.

The soldiers filed inside one by one, keeping a lookout for any more lifeless. The hole opened into a large antechamber, filled with green sludge. It hung in dark ropes on the walls and from the ceiling. The room was rectangular and at the far end, a capsule laid, propped up against the wall. Teddy could tell the base of the capsule was made of a type of metal, but it had since been consumed in part by the green substance decorating the room. The soft green glow that lit the room, came from the cloudy glass front of the pod, light stretching out towards them. The group moved slowly towards the end of the room, each soldier keeping an eye on a different part of the chamber. Two long hallways branched off on either side of the room and Teddy kept his eyes trained down them as they advanced. 

After what seemed like ages of slow walking, they finally reached the capsule. Abby stepped forward and pulled a heavy duty pair of gloves over her combat ones. She procured a clear container from her utility belt and a large metal spoon. It probably had some fancy name like a hazardous material collector, but Teddy decided spoon was better for the time being. 

Suddenly he caught movement in the corner of his eye. His head whipped back to look at the hallway. Several dark figures were making their way forwards. The surprised shout of the other soldiers told him that the other hallway was having the same problems. Abby stayed focused on her work, she had opened the capsule now. Green mist swirled out and circled their boots, covering the floor. The figures in the hallway shambled closer and Teddy came to a horrifying realization. There were more figures behind them, and more after that, and more behind them. In fact the hallway wasn’t naturally dark at all. The lifeless had simply blocked out all the light.    
“Abby you might want to work a little faster!” Teddy said.

“I’m going as fast as I can! There’s so much to sort through I can’t tell what’s biomass and what’s just smoke!”

The shapes lumbered closer. The light was almost reaching the first of them now and Teddy could see the faint droop of their skin and the snakelike pupils of their eyes. The other soldiers rustled nervously and closed into a tighter circle around the pod. There was another click and woosh and a lifeless fell to the ground in the hallway behind Teddy. There were several other clicks and whooshes and more lifeless hit the floor. 

“Stop firing! Save your ammo, there’s too many of them to take down!” Teddy shouted.

“Then what do we do?” 

“Keep the exit clear so we can make a quick escape. There’s no way we’re going to take down all of them.” Teddy wanted desperately for his voice to be authoritative, and to his surprise it  _ was _ . He realized in spite of the dire circumstances, he was strangely calm. He would get out of here alive. He had to. People were relying on them.  _ Billy _ was relying on him. No way in hell was Teddy going to let them down. 

When the first lifeless reached them, the soldiers began to fight. Bullets whizzed through the air. Teddy’s fists connected with bone and lifeless went spinning. They fought the oncoming horde like it was the last thing they would ever do. Teddy kept punching long after his knuckles had bloodied the inside of his gloves, long after one of the soldiers had been punched through and now lay on the ground, long after they were completely surrounded, the exit blocked off despite their best efforts.

Just as Teddy began to lose hope, the ground shook. The lifeless swarm hanging around them froze. The shaking stopped. Everything was eerily silent for a moment. Then the lifeless let out a screech. The sound pierced the air of the antechamber and made the surviving soldiers cover their ears. The lifeless turned away from the soldiers and started for the gap in the wall.  _ They’re leaving?  _ The line of corpses continued shuffling past. It seemed almost never ending. When the last lifeless had finally left the antechamber, the soldiers sat on the ground, shocked. 

“What just happened?” A soldier’s voice crackled over the radio.

“They,  _ left _ .” Teddy said.

“What could make them leave the hive?” Abby asked.

“Whatever it is, I have a feeling it’s not good.” Another voice said.

They started towards the door. Making their way back up the stairs, Teddy felt a sense of dread settle into the back of his mind.  _ Something’s wrong. _ At the top of the stairwell they were greeted by the dead bodies of the guards. Their guts had been ripped open and laid strewn about on the ground. Teddy could still see the shocked and horrified expression, frozen on their face. He turned away, feeling sick to his stomach. 

Suddenly a shrill scream rang out from the front of the hospital. The group ran outside. A lifeless was bent over the body of one of the soldiers from before. The rest of the group laid on the ground around them. It didn’t take a genius to realize that they were dead too. Without skipping a beat, Teddy raised his gun and shot the lifeless in the back of the skull. It screeched and dropped to the ground, the body dropping with it. They rushed over. A large gash ran down the stomach of the soldier. Teddy cradled her head as Abby examined the wound. A grim look came over her face and she nodded at Teddy. He whispered in her ear.

“It’s going to be okay. It’ll be over soon.”

The soldier shook violently and blood bubbled out of her mouth. She suddenly went very still. Her hand shot up into the sky, finger pointing at something in the distance. 

“They wanted us to come here.” She choked out. She then went still and didn’t move again.  _ What does that mean? _ Teddy thought.

“Oh my god.” 

Teddy looked up. Abby was pointing above the treeline. Her face was white. Teddy’s eyes followed to where she was pointing. And suddenly he understood. He understood why getting into the hospital had been so easy. Why the lifeless had left them alive. What the dying soldier’s last words had meant. A giant fireball consumed the sky. A giant fireball where their base had been standing just two hours ago. This hadn’t been a mission, this had been a distraction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one more chapter left! Its kinda hard to believe I made it this far, I really didn't think I would but here we are. So thats fun. Next chapter will be more of a mix if relationship and plot stuff instead of more one or the other. I’ve also been considering writing an epilogue just to kind of cap everything off. Let me know what you think by leaving comments or kudos :)


	10. The Cure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter! Its been so much fun exploring these characters that I absolutely adore (especially Billy and Teddy). This fic hit 200 hits a day or two ago which is a HUGE milestone for me so thanks to everyone who has made it this far! You guys are the reason I write. I will also be doing an epilogue bc why not. Enjoy! :)

Smoke and dust. That was all that remained. Soot swirled through the air and broken glass cracked under Teddy’s feet as he walked through the little piles of rubble that were scattered across the landscape.  _ There has to be survivors. There has to. The compound is deep, whatever caused this couldn’t possibly have destroyed everything. _ But the thought of Billy, assuming he was still alive, trapped so far underground, out of Teddy’s reach, made him sick to his stomach. 

Teddy heard a snap under his boot. He looked down only to find a femur, charred and snapped in half. Teddy swallowed the vomit that crawled its way up his throat. He and the other soldiers fanned out across the wasteland, looking, praying, for any sign of life under the wreck. Finally, a soldier cried out from the center of the blast zone. Teddy sprinted over to him. They stood over a large hole in the ground, probably ten feet across from any point on the edge. Below, there was only darkness. Teddy shined his flashlight down into the dark. He could spot bits of broken vehicles and piles of concrete about ten feet below.  _ The garage.  _

“Hello?” Teddy called. “Is there anyone there?”

Teddy held his breath and waited for a response. Just as he was about to give up a small voice penetrated the silence. It was barely more than a whisper and Teddy had to strain to hear it. It sounded like…

“Who is that?” Teddy called.

Again there was a short pause.

“Teddy?” A weak voice called out.

Teddy’s heart caught in his chest. Without a moment’s hesitation he dropped onto the concrete below, ignoring the cries of his fellow soldiers, and dropping into a roll to absorb the impact of the concrete on his boots. He spun his flashlight in a circle around his body, keeping an eye out for any sign of movement. He didn’t have to wait for long though. A shadowed figure came limping out of the darkness. Teddy didn’t have to wait to know that it was Billy. He had seen that shape, the dark hair, and the gangly limbs, in his dreams a hundred times. He rushed forwards and scooped Billy into his arms, Billy collapsing into Teddy’s chest. Relief washed over Teddy, followed quickly by happiness, and something that Teddy was almost certain was love filled his mind.  _ The universe hasn’t given me much, but it’s given me you, and that’s all I need. _

He pulled away from Billy and pressed his lips onto the other boy’s. Billy’s lips parted in response and Teddy could swear everything was right with the world, if it wasn’t for the crowd of soldiers staring at them in relative shock about ten feet away.

_ Well shit. _

“What the  _ hell  _ do you think you’re doing?” The voice was calm but Teddy could all too easily detect the hint of cool rage underneath the sentence. They must have dropped down while Teddy was making out with the best person in the world. Teddy pulled away from Billy but kept his hands on Billy’s arms as if to let him know  _ I’m here, I’m not going anywhere _ . 

“Get your hands off my son.” 

Teddy opened his mouth to respond but Billy quieted him. 

“It’s time I take care of things for myself.”

Teddy nodded. Billy lessened the distance between him and his father, there was now only a couple feet in between them. 

“You have no right. It’s as simple as that. You have no right to tell him anything. Teddy is one of the most amazing, kind, and loving people I have ever met and he certainly doesn’t deserve to take any shit from you. You have no right to walk in here and tell me that I’m doing this wrong. Nobody has any idea how to do this  _ right _ for god’s sake look where tradition got us in the first place. And you  _ certainly  _ don’t have the right to call me your son. You lost that privilege the day you left me for dead.” 

Billy’s father stared at the boy in front of him with a cold gaze. It seemed as though they were challenging each other to see who would back down first. Finally, Billy’s father stuck out his hand. Billy stared at it for a moment, as if he had no idea what to do with it. For a second Teddy thought Billy might high five him. Then Billy shook his hand. 

“I’m sorry. I know it’s not an excuse, but this is all new to me.”

“It’s new to all of us.” Billy replied.

“I’d like to start over if you’d let me.”

“I’d like that.”

Billy released his father’s hand and walked back over to Teddy, slipping his hand into Teddy’s gloved one. Teddy gave his hand a tight squeeze and got a squeeze in response. 

Just as Teddy allowed himself to relax, a sharp screech echoed from above. Teddy’s stomach fell like a rock to the bottom of his gut.  _ The lifeless are coming. _ He shared a look with the other soldiers. Even assuming they could all find ammo to restock their guns, there was no way they could fight off that many. It would be a bloodbath. 

“What was that?” Billy asked.

Teddy almost didn’t want to tell him.

“That would be the sound of an army of undead coming straight towards us.” Teddy said.

“Oh.”

“So how do we handle this? We have the strain, and making the cure shouldn’t take too long, but we have no way to disperse it. Not to that many lifeless at once. They would be too spread out.” Abby said.

“So we funnel them in,” Billy said, “draw them into an enclosed area and disperse it that way. It shouldn’t be too hard. They’re already trying to get inside.”

Billy’s father paused,

“You’re not seriously suggesting we let the lifeless willingly into the compound?”

“Hold on it could work!” Teddy said.

“There are 9 floors of innocent people down there!”

“But they don’t know that.” Billy replied. ‘If we seal off the lower levels until after the attack is over then they have no way to get down there.”

“But those people will also be trapped down there. What happens if we die and they’re stranded?” One of the soldiers asked.

“We’d better not die then.” Teddy said.

Billy’s father remained silent for a moment.

“It is a risk. But it's one we’ll have to take. Either way those people down there could die. This gives them the best chance at survival.”

“Then we don’t have any time to waste,” Abby said, “Billy and Teddy you come with me to find Tinker, we’re going to need him to help us get out of this mess.”

Teddy nodded. He shared a look with Abby, a look that said,  _ thank you _ . Going with her would be the safest option for Billy, and Teddy couldn’t risk anything happening. 

“We’ll stay here and fortify the garage as much as we can. You three are going to need as much time as possible.” Billy’s father said.

“Make that four.” A tiny voice said.

The soldiers whirled around, guns raised. Miyu stepped, blinking, into the circle of light and stood next to Billy. She seemed dazed but relatively unhurt and stared at the guns pointed in her face.

“Wow some soldiers you are. What are you going to do, shoot me? Idiots.”

“Miyu!” Teddy exclaimed.

“Yeah surprise. And I should have known you would be too busy fussing over Billy to even worry about me.” she turned away in mock disgust.

“It’s alright, I’m used to it.” She added.

_ Jesus this girl likes to test people’s boundaries.  _

“Who the hell is this?” Billy’s father asked.

Miyu gave Billy’s father a look that would have rivaled Batman’s best.

“Miyu. It’s a pleasure.” she twirled on her feet to face the rest of the group.

“Alright people let’s get this show on the road! I’d rather not die today thank you very much.”

With that, she marched out of the garage and down the stairs. Teddy, Billy, and Abby hurried after her. The stairwell wasn’t badly damaged, although the small cracks running along the wall did worry Teddy quite a bit. The group hurried down the stairs until they reached the door marked Level 5 in big bold print. The power had been restored and light now flooded the once dark hallways.  _ Thank god for a backup generator _ . Teddy thought. 

They split up, searching the rooms one by one. Teddy kicked open door after door, but no luck. They met back in the stairwell.

“Lets try the workshop. After that we’ll fan out across the compound and see if we can find him.” Teddy said. 

“Agreed.” Abby nodded.

A few minutes later and they were standing outside the metal door that marked the entrance to Tinker’s workshop. The room was dark and the dim firelight danced over the gleaming scraps of metal littered across the benches. A hulking dark figure emerged from the shadows. Teddy gave a cry and leapt forward only to crash into Tinker carrying a large amount of magnopistols that clattered to the floor. 

“Hey! Jesus can’t a guy walk around his own workshop without getting jumped?”

Teddy stood up and offered a hand to Tinker. 

“Sorry.” He murmured.

“Is your first impulse just to tackle everyone?” Tinker asked.

“I can confirm that that is definitely his first impulse.” Billy said. “Speaking from experience.”

“We need to hurry up.” Abby interjected.

“Yes what she said. If I die because any of you were flirting with each other then I  _ will  _ haunt you from beyond the grave.” Miyu added.

“Tinker we need your help-“ Abby began.

He cut her off.

“Let me guess, you want me to disassemble the decontamination chamber in the medbay and expand its region of influence so you can lead the lifeless into the medbay and release to cure from the air vents?”

Abby paused for a moment.

“Actually, yes that is what we need you to do.”

“Of course doing that could take up to five hours to do correctly. How long do I have?”

“An hour and a half if we’re lucky. Can you do it?”

Tinker sighed.

“Give me twenty minutes.”

Tinker collected the magnopistols from the floor and put them in a box resting on one of the shelves before nodding at them.

“Alright, let's do this.”

The only sound in the hallway was the group’s quick footsteps and the light clank of the pistols in their case. The long hallway to the medbay doors was dark and they had to feel their way along until they finally reached the entrance. 

The medbay was a mess. Half of the beds were gone and the cabinets had been ransacked hurriedly as the doctors struggled to get their patients down to the lower levels. Tinker and Abby scurried off to begin their work. Billy, Teddy, and Miyu set to work moving the hospital beds into the hallway; the room would have to fit as many lifeless as possible. In a matter of ten minutes, Tinker had disassembled the glass room and was busy affixing panels onto the walls of the medbay. Miyu darted around, handing him tools when he needed them. 

Billy stood next to Teddy, watching them work. His hand was intertwined with Teddys. Despite the warm temperature of the room, Billy’s face was pale.  _ Too _ pale. He had a cut on his temple that was extremely worrying and his bad leg wobbled underneath his weight. Billy suddenly latched onto Teddy’s shoulder. Teddy managed to catch him before he could slide to the floor. 

“Hey hey hey! It's alright I’ve got you. Let’s go sit down.” Teddy whispered. 

He wrapped his arm under Billy’s shoulders and led him to the raised step where the disinfection room had once stood. Sweat beaded Billy’s forehead and he rolled his head back and groaned. 

“What’s wrong? Billy? Can you hear me?” Teddy asked. 

Fear and panic gripped the edges of Teddy’s mind.  _ Please please be okay. I don’t want to live without you. _ Billy reached out his hand and clutched the handle of Teddy’s combat knife. Before Teddy could move, Billy ripped it from its sheath and cut open the top of his pant leg. Teddy grabbed the knife from him and returned it.

“Billy you’re scaring me, you can’t do stuff like that without warning.”

Billy just closed his eyes and led Teddy’s hand to the rip. Hesitantly, Teddy peeled back the fabric and looked inside. 

Dark green skin branched out like an infection from where Billy’s scar had been before. The scar was now a deep purple and attached to Billy’s leg like a disease. _ This should be impossible. He was fine just yesterday. _ Then, Teddy remembered what Abby had told him while they were planning the mission to the hospital.  _ The infection can take days to fully transform you, sometimes the victim won’t even show signs for days after. It depends on how hard they can fight it.  _ Suddenly Teddy came to a heartbreaking realization:  _ He’s been fighting this since we met. But that was over a month ago, what could have possibly kept him going that long? _

“Abby!” He shouted. Tinker and Miyu looked up with worried expressions on their faces and then resumed working, occasionally shooting glances back over to them. What they were doing was too important to ignore, no matter how hard it was for them. 

“Abby! Abby it's Billy he needs help!” Teddy was aware of how desperate his voice sounded but he didn’t care. He kept shouting until Abby finally came running through one of the doors on the other side of the room. She held a vial aloft in her hands. A light blue liquid sloshed around inside. 

“It's ready.” She said.

“Is that all of it?” Teddy asked.

“For now, yes. But I have more synthesizing. This should be enough to cure about 40 people though, if we disperse it properly.”

“And what about him?” Teddy nodded towards Billy. Abby’s face fell and she rushed over to Billy. Her face was grim.

“He doesn’t have long.” Her voice wavered. “His best chance is being here when we disperse the cure.” 

Teddy’s heart skipped a beat.

“You’re not seriously suggesting we leave him here alone with the lifeless?” Teddy felt something stirring beneath the crushing worry and sadness. It came bubbling to the surface with a vengeance. 

“What is it with your goddamn family and leaving him behind!? He’s done nothing to deserve this, any of this!” Teddy felt tears brimming in his eyes.

“He’s all I have left.” He knelt down next to Billy and let the tears flow down his face.

“I’m not leaving him. I promised.”

Abby knelt down next to Teddy and put her hand on his back. 

“I know, I know. I don’t want to leave him either. I already lost my mom and my sister, and there’s a good chance that my dad may not survive the next few hours. I know how you feel. I  _ hate _ to leave him, but it's his best chance.”

Teddy nodded and calmed himself down. He leaned over and kissed Billy’s forehead.

“Stay alive nerd.” He whispered.

Slowly, reluctantly he got up and left Billy’s body lying on the ground.

“Tinker are we ready?” Abby asked.

Tinker nodded and dusted off his pants. 

“Should be all set. I just need to load the serum into the dispersal unit. Assuming that stuff works then all we need is some test subjects.” 

As if on cue, a loud bang came from the elevator shaft. There was a rapid burst of gunfire from somewhere above them and then the unmistakable sound of lifeless screeching. 

“We need to get to the control room.” Tinker said.

They hurried through one of the doors in the medbay and found themselves in an office of sorts. The computer setup had been modified greatly and now displayed a grainy feed of the medbay outside. Tinker climbed up a ladder in the corner of the room and disappeared for a few minutes. Abby moved a chair under the door handle and locked it. 

Tinker clambered back down the ladder and into the room. 

“And now, we wait.” He said.

There was an uncomfortably long five minutes of silence that no one seemed particularly anxious to break. Finally, a low twang noise permeated the stillness of the air. Before Teddy even had time to wonder what it could have been, there was a loud bang and the floor rattled. Teddy steadied himself against the wall. 

“The elevator fell.” Miyu said.

Teddy looked at the computer screen. The elevator doors were open and showed only darkness behind. A hand began to curl its way around the edge of the entryway. Slowly a figure emerged from the elevator shaft. It poked its head around as if testing the water before disappearing. Suddenly, lifeless began to pour out of the doors in droves, the horde was seemingly endless. They filled the room quickly, crawling over furniture and up the walls. Teddy held his breath as they reached Billy’s body on the floor. Time seemed to slow as they circled around him, pacing carefully back and forth. A larger lifeless pushed to the front of the pack, emerging from the throng of corpses like the grim reaper who’d come to collect the boy in front of him. He carefully examined the body before turning to the room and smiling. It was a terrible smile, filled with rotting flesh and decomposed teeth. Teddy was sure he would see that face in his nightmares. 

“Press it. Do it now.” Teddy said.

Tinker nodded. He closed his eyes and said a little prayer to himself before slamming his fist down on the red button on the desk. There was a low hiss from overhead. On the camera, the lifeless looked up in confusion. Blue mist began to spray out of the air vents, quickly spreading across the room. The lifeless howled in pain and dropped to the floor.

“Engaging radiation now.” Tinker said.

A soft blue light flowed across the room and rolled over the Lifeless’ bodies on the floor. They writhed in agony, hands clutching their heads and limbs twitching at their sides. But they were  _ hands _ . Not claws or talons, but hands. Pinks and whites and browns where there had been green and bone before. It was like turning back a clock. Flesh repaired itself, eyes turned from snakelike yellows and greens to blues and browns. Soon enough, the room was full of people of various people of different shapes and sizes. They looked around in confusion. Some rubbed their heads.

Teddy opened the door and stepped out into the room. He smiled, slowly at first, and then spreading across his face in a wide grin. 

“It worked.” He said.

A thin boy with dark hair sat up in the middle of the crowd and looked around. His eyes met Teddy’s and he smiled back. Teddy ran to him, weaving through people and scooping Billy up into his arms. Billy laughed and clutched Teddy’s neck. 

“Everything’s going to be just fine.” Teddy said. And for the first time in his life, he actually believed it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So thats it! But not really. Epilogue is coming very soon as it is much shorter than an actual chapter. Thank you to everyone who took the time to read my crazed fever dream of a story, it certainly has been fun to write and hopefully it was fun for you to read! These characters mean so much to me and I truly think there is a little piece of me in each of them. Which is why its gonna feel weird not writing them anymore... Once again thank you for reading! All comments and Kudos are greatly appreciated :)


	11. Epilogue: 5 Years Later

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, the epilogue. This one is a bit shorter but I still thought it might be fun to take a glimpse into the future. Enjoy :)

Billy pulled the bow tie off of where it was hanging on his chair.  _ Shit. _ He thought.  _ I have no idea how to do this.  _ He looked around the room. No one. The room was far more decorated than it had been when he’d first moved in. New clothes now hung in the once barren closet. Pictures of Billy and Teddy decorated the desk where a notebook full of Billy’s story sat, open, and waiting to be finished.

Billy poked his head out into the hallway just in time to catch Abby walking by. 

“Abby! Wait, I need your help.” 

She turned a tense expression on her face. He held up the untied piece of fabric and smiled. Abby relaxed. Billy didn’t blame her, after the things that they’d been through he could understand why she would be a little nervous. He stepped out of the doorway.

“Billy you look amazing!” Abby said.

“Really?” Billy said. He ran his hands through his hair. No matter how hard he’d tried to comb it, brush it, and mat it down, it had refused. 

“Of course! But this,” Abby pointed to the bowtie in Billy’s hands, “I’m afraid I can’t help you with.” 

“Great. Know anyone who might be able to seeing as I’m getting married in about an hour and I still can’t tie a goddamn bowtie?” 

Abby laughed and rubbed the wedding ring on her finger. 

“Tinker might be able to, if you can tear him away from the set up. He’s taking the position of best man  _ very _ seriously. Last I saw him he was out by the tents.”

“Thanks.” Billy said. 

“And Billy?”

“Yeah?”

“It’s going to be great.”

Billy smiled.

“Yeah it is.”

He slipped passed Abby and out into the lobby of the compound's first floor. Sunlight streamed through large windows on the front of the building and cut through the air of the large room. It had taken several years to build and had served as a makeshift hospital for a while, until the actual building had been built. Eden they were calling it. A fitting name Billy decided. For the first few years refugees had flooded through the gates but recently the flow had slowed substantially. Billy liked to think that was because they didn’t need to run away from anything anymore. The world was healing, slowly, but surely. He passed through the large doors at the front of the lobby and into the almost blinding sunlight. As his eyes adjusted, a long road came into view in front of him. Buildings lined the sides of it, homes, schools, jobs. The beginnings of a city stretched out before him. He headed down the street and took the first left. Billy shivered as he passed under the large arch that led to the entrance of memorial park. It was one of the first things they had decided on when the plans for the city had been drawn. It was a rather large section of land, close to the center of the city, where people could go to remember the ones that they had lost during the invasion. 

Billy entered the park and headed towards the white tents just barely visible through the trees ahead. After a moment's thought, he changed direction and soon found himself in front of a large stone monument. It was relatively plain. A simple stone pillar surrounded by benches and some shrubs. It had been one of the first things they had put in when starting construction. His eyes wandered the surface, tracing over the names engraved there. He found the three he was looking for and stared at them. It had been 5 years and it still hurt to look at them. Billy suspected the pain would never fully go away but that was alright. He wasn’t sure he really wanted it to. It was almost a reminder. A reminder of what they had sacrificed to make this a reality.

**Robert W Kaplan**

**Danielle G Kaplan**

**Maria E Kaplan**

He sighed.  _ I wish you could be here.  _ He thought. His brooding was interrupted by a touch on his shoulder. He turned to find a young asian woman staring at him. 

“Miyu! You made it!”

Billy hugged her and she returned the hug with an equal if not greater amount of force. 

“Of course I did loser. I can’t miss my best friend’s wedding.” 

Billy smiled at her. It had been a long time since he’d seen her. When they had asked for volunteers to help distribute the cure to other survivor hubs, Miyu had jumped at the chance. That had been 4 and a half years ago. She had stopped back occasionally to visit, but her work kept her globetrotting. 

“How did you know I would be here?” Billy asked.

“To be honest, I didn’t.” Miyu said.

“So you came to visit…” Then it sunk in.

“Oh I’m so sorry. I never even really thought about it. Where are they?”

Miyu led him around to the other side of the monument. She pointed to a set of names towards the bottom half. 

“There. I don’t remember a whole lot about them. They died pretty early on. Being here it, it-“

“It feels like maybe there's still a part of them with you.” Billy finished the sentence for her. Miyu nodded.

“Exactly. Now come on, I don’t want to make you late for your wedding.” 

Billy took Miyu’s hand and they walked down the path towards the tents. As they got closer, Billy could pick out the shape of Tinker on the lawn below, shouting at some poor person who had been given the responsibility of organizing chairs. 

“I said  _ 10  _ rows of  _ 8 _ , NOT 8 rows of 10! Congratulations, you’ve single handedly made my life a LIVING HELL. Go stand in the corner and think about what you’ve done. Go.”

“Tinker?”

Tinker whirled around and smiled.

“Little brother! You look amazing! As you can see everything is going perfectly. We’ve had absolutely no issues. What brings you to the tents so early? Your not supposed to be here for another,” he checked his watch, “47 minutes.”

Billy held up his bow tie with an exasperated look. 

“Ahh I see, let's find a bathroom. Miyu good to see you! How goes the good fight?”

Tinker stretched out his hand and Miyu engaged in the strangest and most dramatic handshake Billy had ever seen. It involved two fistbumps, a twirl, finger guns, and various other movements. 

“Oh you know, kick ass, save the world, the usual.” Miyu responded. “I’ll let you two take care of your various issues.” She paused. “And try not to tear that poor woman apart, its chairs, not the end of the world.”

Tinker blushed and turned away. He led Billy off to a building lining the edge of the park. Inside, there was a mirror and sink with various products for hair and skin lined up on the counter.  _ This must have been where the groomsmen got ready.  _ Billy thought. 

“Alright let's see here.” Tinker took the bowtie and began to loop it around his neck. 

“You feeling ready?” Billy asked.

“I could ask you the same thing. In fact I probably should be. Nervous?”

“God yes. I’m getting married.”

“It’s not him is it?” Tinker frowned.

“Of course not! I’ve wanted to spend the rest of my life with him basically since I met him. It’s just all of the people. I just want to be married to him.” Billy said.

“Ah, that makes sense. You two have been through a lot together.”

“Yeah we have.” Billy zoned out a bit.

“Do you ever regret any of it?” Tinker asked. Billy fingered the two pieces of paper in his pocket. One was a picture of his family. Billy had taken it from his house, what seemed like an eternity ago after stopping there with Teddy. The memory was fuzzy, as if he was starting to forget all of the little things, but he wanted the picture with him. In a way, it would almost be like they were there with him.

“Actually, there are a few things.”

“Like what?” 

Billy took the other photograph from his pocket and gave it to Tinker.

“Before I got to the compound, before I even met Teddy, I was travelling with a group of people. One of them was an old man, mute, but kind. He died saving my life. I didn’t even get to thank him. His last wish was for me to find that kid, but I never did. I figured he probably died and was in some mass grave somewhere.”

Billy wiped away the beginnings of tears in his eyes and glanced at Tinker. Tinker was staring at the photograph with a far off look in his eyes. His hands were shaking.

“Tinker?”

Tinker looked up. His voice was shaky.

“Billy, this,” he paused, “this is  _ me _ .”

Billy stared at Tinker with a shocked expression. Tears welled up in his eyes.

“What?”

“This- this is a picture of me when I was a kid. I was with my grandparents when the invasion hit, but we got seperated.”

“I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”

He put his hands on top of Tinker’s and stopped the shaking. Tinker wrapped him in a bear hug. Tears were flowing down his cheeks. He pulled away suddenly.

“Shit I’m going to ruin your jacket!” Tinker said. They laughed and brushed themselves off. 

“Come on, it's time for me to get married.” Billy said.

  
  


~Later That Night~

  
  
  


Billy felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to find himself staring into the eyes of his husband. Teddy smiled and kissed his forehead. 

“Mind if I borrow him for a minute?” He asked. The people at the reception table shook their heads and Teddy led Billy away from the crowd. On the dance floor, Miyu, Tinker, and Abby were raging. Abby’s perfect makeup had been completely ruined during the ceremony as she had spent a majority of it sobbing uncontrollably. She had later told Billy that she was so happy that she felt like she would explode into rainbows and glitter. This had been of course after several glasses of wine. Billy smiled and followed his husband outside the tent. 

The night air was warm and a light breeze blew against Billy’s face as Teddy led him across the lawn. 

“You aren’t taking me to your murder den are you? Because my husband would kill you if you tried to murder me.” Billy said.

Teddy smiled.

“He sounds like a real stand up guy. I’d love to meet him sometime.”

Billy smirked.

“That could be arranged. But seriously though, where are we going? Marge from the office was telling a terribly boring story and I can’t drink at work.”

“You’ll see, we’re almost there.”

They climbed a small hill and Billy saw where Teddy had taken him. His breath caught in his chest. 

They had come to a small glade ringed by trees. Fairy lights hung from the trees and gave the whole place an otherworldly glow. A small dance floor had been constructed in the center of the trees and a small boombox sat on a stool nearby. Teddy walked over and pressed a button on the top. Music floated to Billy’s ears. 

“Frank Sinatra, you know me too well.” Billy said.

Teddy walked to the middle of the floor and held out his hand.

“William Kaplan, will you give me this dance?”

“Why Theodore it would be my pleasure.” 

Billy took his hand and placed his on Teddy’s neck. He leaned into Teddy’s body, resting his head on Teddy’s chest. 

“It’s Altman now by the way.”

Teddy laughed.

“Yeah I guess it is now isn’t it?”

They were silent for a moment. Each enjoying the feeling of the other pressed against their body. 

“Teddy?”

“Yeah Billy?”

“Did you ever think we would end up here?” Billy asked.

Teddy thought for a moment.

“To be honest, no. I thought we’d end up dead in some mall, If we were lucky. I hoped though. God I hoped.”

“Have I ever told you that you’re basically a perfect human being?”

“Have I ever told  _ you  _ that?” Teddy replied.

“Yes. Numerous times.” Billy chuckled. They shuffled back and forth on the dance floor for a while, letting the music flow over them like a warm blanket.

“I’m glad I found you Billy.”

Billy smiled.

“I’m glad you found me too.”

~The End~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now it is truly done. I have absolutely NO idea what the hell I’m gonna write next. Another Billy/Teddy fic? Maybe one set in the YA universe? Another AU? Who knows? Certainly not me! Leave any suggestions in a comment. As for now, I’m going to have to try to say goodbye to my oc’s. Thank you to all my readers! Until next time :)


End file.
